A man has been jailed for 11 years for attempting to rob Premier League striker Andy Carroll of his £22,000 wristwatch.
Convicted burglar Jack O'Brien, 22, was found guilty at Basildon Crown Court of trying to rob the West Ham striker as he drove home from the club's training ground on 2 November 2016.
Carroll was at a set of traffic lights in his Jeep Wrangler in Hainault, northeast London, when O'Brien pulled up beside him on a motorcycle and demanded his watch.
The Premier League star was then pursued by two suspects on motorbikes as he tried to escape, forcing him onto the wrong side of the road as he drove back to the training ground where there was security staff.
The second driver has not been located.
Carroll had initially thought the rider, who was wearing a crash helmet with a visor up, was boxer Kevin Mitchell pulling up for a chat, but as he went to drive off, the man said "give me your watch."
He identified O'Brien in a police identity parade.
Car chase
In his 999 call, Carroll is heard telling the operator: "Oh s***, I've hit loads of cars, I don't know what to do, he's just hit my car."
O'Brien, of Navarre Gardens, Romford, east London, was found guilty by a jury of six men and six women after six hours and 25 minutes of deliberations.
He was given a sentence of 11 years and three months for the attempted robbery on Carroll and a previous "campaign of burglaries."
Judge John Lodge told him: "I have no doubt at all in saying that by reason of the planning of that sophisticated offence, the length of time that you pursued that vehicle, and that you were again using your motorcycle equipment as a disguise, you are at the very top of the bracket of culpability."
Police found O'Brien hiding under a mattress at a property in Dagenham, east London, when they went to arrest him 10 days after the attempted robbery.
A motorcycle helmet, Ducati jacket and a Suzuki motorbike were all seized.
DNA matching O'Brien was found on the helmet and jacket.
Crime spree
It was heard that similar items had been used for a series of burglaries by O'Brien between October and November last year, in which cash and jewellery were taken.
The defendant claimed he was not the biker in question and, while he had used the motorbike gear for other crimes, he had not on that occasion.
His account was rejected by jurors.
In a victim impact statement Carroll, who believed the defendant had a gun, said he "feared for his life."
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