LIVING IN FEAR
Simon Cowell in ‘constant fear’ after £1m burglary as CCTV shows night raider fleeing scene
The X Factor star said: "This incident has caused me great concerns about the security of my family"
SIMON Cowell has revealed he is living in "constant fear" and concern for his young son's welfare following a break-in at his home, when almost £1million worth of jewellery was stolen by a serial offender.
Darren February broke into the music mogul's west London home while the star and his family were sleeping, and was sentenced to eight years this afternoon.
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Just days after the December 2015 burglary February struck Kenneth Baldwin, a dad-of-one, with a car not far from the X Factor star's home.
In a victim impact statement from Cowell that was read out in court, the star said: "This incident has caused me great concerns about the security of my family.
"On reflection I am very scared of what could have happened to my son if the burglar had gone into his room.
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"I could not bear to think of the consequences and also a lot would have happened if the burglar had come into our room.
"The whole incident has been very traumatic and there is a constant fear that it may be repeated and that it may be worse next time."
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Cowell, who has lived at the property for 10 years, said he, his partner and Eric's nannies "have become much more anxious over safety issues relating to my son's care and well-being".
CCTV from the scene released today shows the crook fleeing from the scene with the stolen jewels.
February was last year sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for causing death by dangerous driving.
At the time of the Holland Park break-in, he was on licence for other burglary and public order offences.
February, who was 12 when he was first convicted of a criminal offence and has 37 previous convictions for burglary, routinely targeted the wealthy areas of Kensington and Bayswater which provided "rich pickings", his trial heard.
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Judge Edmunds told February in court before sentencing him: "You spent a period of 17 minutes within the house before emerging from the front door to make off, by now with a bag, Mr Cowell's bag in hand.
"Whilst within the house, and having left muddy footprints over the ground floor in your search, you went up to the first floor where Mr Cowell and Ms Silverman lay sleeping in their bedroom and entered the dressing room next door and took two of Mr Cowell's passports and watches and jewellery to the value of approximately £950,000.
"This occurred whilst Mr Cowell's son and his nanny were sleeping on the floor above and despite the presence of a security guard in the basement.
"However much you wished to avoid detection the very act of entering a person's home at night creates the risk of confrontation and violence.
"As with so many others, Mr Cowell says that the whole incident has been very traumatic and there is a constant fear it may be repeated, leading to the need constantly to re-assess his family's security.
"Your offence must be seen against the background of an appalling previous record.
"Your first conviction at at the age of 12 was for the burglary of a person's home and since then you have offended whenever you have been free to do so in a whole range of ways.
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"I can find no gap in your record to show that you have, at any time since the age of 12 interrupted your offending and the current burglary is one committed whilst you were on license for other burglary offences.
"The time when your difficult childhood can mitigate the sentences you will now receive is long gone."
Cowell, his partner Lauren Silverman, and their son Eric, aged two at the time, were asleep upstairs during the raid.
February's DNA was found on gloves dropped on his escape from the house, and on a handprint on a wall at the property, where the entertainment boss has lived for 10 years.
The serial burglar was identified by a security worker as he fled, and later by police who were aware of his "prolific" sprees.
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He stole £950,000 of jewellery from the four-floor five-bed house, most of which has not been recovered, as well as two passports.
His defence team argued that he had been caught up in a case of mistaken identity, but February did not provide an alibi and opted not to give evidence.
On one of the days he refused to leave prison to go to court and the trial went ahead in his absence.
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Simon was left shaken when his house was broken into while he, girlfriend Lauren Silverman and son Eric slept.
At the time Simon, 57, said: "It was nerve-racking. Lauren was woken up with me and we checked on Eric.
"That was the first thing we did, to make sure he was OK.
"Apart from the fact someone broke into my house and stole my stuff, which is scary, it could have been worse. Thankfully no one was hurt."
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