Robber involved in raid at Ashley Cole’s home fails in bid to reduce sentence

A robber who was part of a gang which tied up former England footballer Ashley Cole in front of his children and threatened to cut off his fingers has failed in a bid to reduce a 30-year jail term.

Three appeal judges on Tuesday dismissed an appeal by Kurtis Dilks, 35, of Whitegate Vale, Nottingham, at a Court of Appeal hearing in London.

Dilks had been convicted of conspiracy to rob following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court in July 2022.

Judge James Sampson handed Dilks, who was also convicted of involvement in other crimes, a 30-year term and ordered him to serve an extended licence period of five years.

Dilks argued that the sentence was excessive.

But appeal judges Lord Justice Holroyde, Mr Justice Kerr, and Judge Timothy Spencer ruled against him.

They heard how Mr Cole and his partner Sharon Canu had been the victims of a raid at their Surrey home in January 2020.

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.

He and five other men had been convicted for their roles in a string of what prosecutors said were “ruthlessly executed” robberies and burglaries between October 2018 and January 2020.

As well as the incident involving Mr Cole, Dilks was 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.