Take That star Gary Barlow’s £6m mansion raided by smash & grab gang as he filmed Saturday Night Takeaway with Ant & Dec
SMASH and grab thieves targeted Gary Barlow’s home while he was away for the weekend filming with Take That for Ant and Dec’s telly show.
The gang swooped on the £6million country pile a day after the group performed on the penultimate episode of Saturday Night Takeaway.
They waited until darkness fell before forcing the property’s front gate on the main road of a village in the South of England.
It is understood singer Gary, 53, was unaware a burglary had taken place until the following day — on April 8 — when the police were alerted.
It remains unclear what, if anything, was stolen in the raid and no arrests have been made.
And it’s unknown whether the star’s wife or their three children were at the house at the time.
Crime scene investigators were seen taking photos of Gary’s Grade II-listed mansion in the days after the incident.
Yesterday neighbours told of seeing his front gate damaged following the burglary.
The police have been round — it’s a warning to us all
Gary's neighbour
One said: “When I drove past I saw officers taking photos of the gates, which had been damaged.
“They were left half open. A few days later the gates had been fixed.”
Another neighbour, 76, said cops knocked on his door to ask about the burglary, which is believed to have taken place in the early hours of the morning.
The music academic said: “The police have been round to ask me about what happened, but I wasn’t aware of anything.
“I noticed the gates were flapping open. It’s a rather secluded place. It’s a warning to us all.
“There have been other burglaries we’ve heard about in the area within the last year or so.
“There are a few big houses and Mr Barlow’s is one of them.
“Police always need to do more. It would make everybody feel more reassured here if there were a larger presence, but like everything else in life, it is all funding-related.
“I wouldn’t mind paying an extra penny in tax if the NHS and police were better funded. It would make us all feel safer.”
Another local said of Gary: “He’s a lovely neighbour and it’s good to have him in the village.
“I’m devastated this has happened to such a nice family.”
Barlow bought his country pile for £2.3million in 2007.
He agreed with conservationists to install a bat box in 2020 and in exchange he was allowed to build a garage for his cars.
Plans to build a second six-bed home in the garden were rejected in 2019.
Gary was told by council planners that the proposed property would be out of keeping with the area.
Confirming the raid yesterday, a police spokeswoman said: “We received reports of a burglary in between 5.50pm on 7 April and 9am on 8 April. Officers are investigating the incident.”
Gary and his two Take That bandmates Mark Owen, 52, and Howard Donald, 56, performed their 2007 Number one Shine on ITV’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
The show’s final episode was aired the following week.