Man jailed over Ashley Cole raid and £3.5m tiara heist fails with appeal

Ashley Cole and partner Sharon Canu were bound by cable ties during the raid at their home in Fetcham, Surrey

A man jailed over a raid at ex-footballer Ashley Cole's home and a £3.5m tiara heist has failed in a bid to reduce his sentence.

Kurtis Dilks was jailed for 30 years in July last year for his part in the attack on Mr Cole, which saw him and his partner Sharon Canu bound by cable ties during a robbery in January 2020.

The 35-year-old had said the length of the sentence was too harsh.

A Court of Appeal hearing in London rejected his case on Tuesday.

Kurtis Dilks was the only one of a four-strong gang convicted over the raid at Mr Cole's home

Dilks was the only one of the gang responsible for the robbery to be caught after his DNA was recovered on the cable ties used to restrain Mr Cole and Ms Canu.

Dilks and five other men were convicted for their roles in a string of what prosecutors said were "ruthlessly executed" robberies and burglaries between October 2018 and January 2020.

The thefts included a raid on the £3.5m-rated Portland Tiara, which has not been seen since being stolen in 2018.

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The heist was described by a judge as a "heinous attack on the country's heritage".

Dilks, of Whitegate Vale in Clifton, Nottingham, was also found guilty of conspiring to rob the wife of former Tottenham, Hull and Derby midfielder Tom Huddlestone in May 2019, along with two other men.