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Burglars who held 'Kitten' Kerry at knifepoint got in through unlocked door
Last updated at 19:07pm on 17.07.07The armed burglars who held former pop star Kerry Katona and her baby daughter hostage at knife point let themselves in through an unlocked door, it has emerged.
The 26-year-old singer, her husband, Mark Croft, 36, and their five-month-old daughter, Heidi, were subjected to a terrifying ordeal by three masked raiders who stole more than £150,000 worth of property from her Cheshire mansion.
Police were initially baffled as to how the gang, who were armed with a sledge-hammer, crow bar and a large kitchen knife, got into the £1.5million five-bedroomed home, which has a state-of-the-art security system and CCTV cameras in every room.
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Kerry and her family were 'extremely alarmed' by their ordeal
But it has been revealed that neither Miss Katona or Mr Croft, who were watching a film in their basement cinema when the burglars struck, had bothered to lock the house or turn on the alarm.
It meant that the men, who were all wearing balaclavas and are unlikely to be identifiable from any CCTV footage, simply walked in through a side door.
Last night PR man Max Clifford, who represents Miss Katona, said: "We think the men got in through a side door which wasn't locked.
"Kerry and Mark didn't have the alarm on because they were in - they were downstairs in the cinema.
"It looks like the burglars thought no-one was in because there were no lights on upstairs and saw an opportunity."
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Family: The singer with Heidi and (left) husband Mark Croft
The theft is the latest misfortune to befall Miss Katona, a self-confessed cocaine addict, whose problematic personal life has been played out in the media spotlight - and her own magazine column - since she first rose to fame with girl band Atomic Kitten in the late 1990s.
Following her split from boy band singer Brian McFadden, 27, the father of her two older daughters, Molly, six, and four-year-old, Lilly-Sue, in 2004, she has undergone a very public fall from grace, which culminated in allegations of drug taking and a spell in rehab.
She agreed to marry Mr Croft after a three week courtship and the couple tied the knot on Valentine's Day at Gretna Green this year.
But the union has caused friction between Miss Katona and many of her friends and family in Warrington, Cheshire, where she grew up, who claim Mr Croft is an unsuitable husband.
On top of that, they have sought to profit from her misfortune by taking it in turns to sell stories about her alleged cocaine binges and her unfitness to be a mother to the tabloid press.
Mr Clifford said Miss Katona had been particularly hurt by a recent story in one celebrity magazine which claimed that people in the 'Warrington underworld' hated Miss Katona and Mr Croft, a former taxi driver, and that it was only a matter of time before someone tried to harm her.
However, there was no suggestion Kerry knew the people responsible for Sunday night's raid and the article had been passed onto police, he added.
"Kerry is struggling to come to terms with what has happened," Mr Clifford said.
"She is sedated and is thinking of going away for a while while Mark sorts out the security - she is still terrified of going back to the house at the moment.
"When Kerry was a young girl she had to pull a knife out of her mother's leg that her mother's partner had stabbed her with.
"She's always had a real fear of knives - even in the kitchen the knives are covered up.
"This is bad enough for anybody but for her it was even worse because she has a real phobia about knives.
"As ridiculous as it sounds if it had been a gun it would not have been as frightening for Kerry.
"She has been sobbing uncontrollably and shaking and is in a real state."
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Police arrive at Kerry Katona's home in Wilmslow, Cheshire
Mr Croft has now met with a top security expert, who has provided protection for a string of Hollywood stars, including Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, in a bid to improve his family's safety.
Graham Freeman, a former member of the Army who has Special Forces training, spent just under an hour with Mr Croft at the property, in Wilmslow, an area which boasts some of the most expensive and desirable addresses in Cheshire.
Meanwhile, police continued to dust the home for fingerprints and have yet to recover any of the jewellery or other stolen goods, including the couple's wedding rings and their sporty £65,000 BMW M5.
Evidence: The couple's Porsche is taken away by police yesterday for a forensic examination
Reader views (6)
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
A message to Kerry, Mark and baby Heidi if you read this... That was a terrible thing that happened. People like that should be locked up. I hope you will all be alright after what has happened. God bless you and take care.
- J, London
I don't feel sorry for them... You have to be totally stupid not to close your front door properly and put the alarm on.
- Eddie, London
I guess we should be more politically correct - it was not the robber's fault?
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London
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