BRITAIN:The former Atomic Kitten star Kerry Katona and her five-month-old daughter were held at knifepoint yesterday after three masked men burst into her home and made off with valuable items including a top of the range BMW.
Katona (26) and her husband, Mark Croft (36) were in their Cheshire home early yesterday when the three men broke into their property and held her and baby Heidi in a locked downstairs room while they stole items worth around £150,000 (€221,361), including her engagement and wedding rings.
The men burst into the house in Wilmslow shortly before midnight, Cheshire police said. They held Katona and her daughter at knifepoint while they took Mr Croft to point out valuable items. "All the intruders were wearing balaclavas and were armed with a sledgehammer, crowbar and large knife similar to a kitchen knife," said a force spokesman. "One of the offenders remained in a downstairs room with the mother and baby while the other two offenders made Mr Croft accompany them through the house as they identified property to steal.
"The husband was then returned to his wife and baby, and the family were secured in a downstairs room, while the offenders stole property and made their escape." The family were able to release themselves and raise the alarm shortly after 12.30am.
Max Clifford, Katona's spokesman, said she had phoned him in tears. "She was sobbing uncontrollably and is absolutely distraught," he said. "She is a highly emotional thing who has had a lot of problems in her life, and for this to happen when she was doing so well - she has got a new house, a new husband and a baby and is getting back to her old self. It was such a horrible thing to happen," he said.
Katona has battled with addictions to cocaine and alcohol following her marriage break-up with Westlife star Brian McFadden, the father of her two older daughters. She has been in rehab and was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder.
Her two older daughters, Molly (5), and Lilly-Sue (4), were staying with McFadden's parents at the time.