SamCam’s father ‘wrestled with robber’at stately home
Mark Branagan
DAVID Cameron’s father-in-law wrestled with lockdown thugs, who stole his mobile phone at his stately home, a court heard.
Antony Wilks has been charged with robbery at the 300-acre estate of Sir Reginald Sheffield, father of Samantha Cameron.
The baronet was sitting in his car when two men pulled up in a VW Golf, the court was told.
Prosecutors said the VW continued to advance until it was sitting nose-to-nose with Sir Reginald’s vehicle outside Normanby Hall, Flixborough, North Lincolnshire.
Prosecutor Mark Haigh told Grimsby magistrates Court one man got out of the car and came up to Sir Reginald’s car window, which was fully down.
He said: “I’ll have your phone, ta”, leaned into the car and grabbed Sir Reginald’s left forearm and took his iPhone 8, Mr Haigh told the court.
He said there was a struggle before the phone was torn from Sir Reginald’s grip and the robber got back into the car and sped off.
The court heard Wilks, who has previous links with nearby Scunthorpe and Caistor, was arrested by Humberside Police officers last Thursday in Gunness, Scunthorpe.
He appeared in court accused of robbery on Saturday, the day of Sir Reginald’s 74th birthday.
Suspect
Wilks, 25, of Kings Croft, Ealand, near Crowle, is accused of robbing Sir Reginald of an iPhone 8 at Flixborough on April 14.
Wilks, who was wearing a dark blue full tracksuit, indicated no plea to the charge.
He appeared in the secure dock because the Skype link to the police’s BirchinWay custody suite in Grimsby was not being used.
Wilks was represented by defence solicitor Ian Haywood, who asked that his client be granted conditional bail.
But District Judge Daniel Curtis refused bail and remanded Wilks in custody.
Father-of-five Sir Reginald – full name Reginald Adrian Berkeley Sheffield – has been the eighth baronet of Normanby in the County of Lincoln since 1977.
He was educated at Eton College, where his son-in-law David Cameron also went.
Samantha, 49, is the eldest daughter from his first marriage, in 1969, to Viscountess Astor. He has three children from his second marriage to Victoria Penelope Walker in 1977.
He was a Conservative councillor on Humberside County Council from 1985 to 1993.
Normanby Hall is a Regency mansion set in an estate of 300 acres and a country park including a farming museum, stable yard woodland and walled garden.
A popular tourist attraction, the house and grounds are managed by North Lincolnshire Council on a lease from the Sheffield family.
Humberside Police said they are still searching for a second suspect in connection with the robbery. cafe,