Video shows Prem star Carroll’s terror drive as bike robbers chase him
DRAMATIC footage has been released of football star Andy Carroll being chased by a “gunman” on a motorbike trying to steal his £22,000 watch.
Jack O’Brien, 22, was yesterday jailed for 11 years three months after being convicted of the attempted drive-by heist and pleading guilty to a string of burglaries.
Dash cam footage shows two motorbike riders chasing the West Ham striker’s Jeep Wrangler down busy roads.
Desperate Carroll, 28, can be seen speeding down the wrong side of the road as drivers swerve out of the way. At one point he comes within inches of hitting a lorry head-on while the thug and an unknown accomplice weave through traffic behind him.
In a victim-impact statement Carroll, who believed O’Brien had a gun, said he feared for his life and now travels to and from training with security guards.
The 6ft 4in star called police while he was being chased in Chigwell, Essex, after he was threatened by the driver at a red traffic light.
One of the suspects said: “Give me the watch” and suggested through gestures he had a firearm.
Basildon crown court heard thugs raided 60 houses in South Essex, mostly at night while residents were asleep, between October and December 2011.
O’Brien was been involved in 10 of the raids.
Gang members stole car keys and drove away highvalue Mercedes and BMWs vehicles parked outside. Yesterday O’Brien, wearing an untucked white shirt with a pink tie, grimaced and put his head in his hands as his crimes were exposed. He showed no emotion as the verdict was read out but as he was led to the cells he shouted to his family: “I never done it.” He had admitted five burglaries and three attempted burglaries in Herts and Essex. Judge John Lodge said: “It’s disappointing to note that at the age of 22 there is no description for you apart from a professional criminal. From a very early age you have committed offences of dishonesty.” The Mirror can reveal that at the time of the Carroll incident last November O’Brien was wanted for attacking a woman in 80s during an aggravated burglary in Chafford Hundred, Essex. The case was dropped after he admitted the other house raids. We can now also report that he was spared jail in 2013 after pleading guilty to being part of a gang that stole £500,000 worth of high-value cars. Det Sgt Brett Hagen said: “The footage of the chase shows the persistent and reckless lengths this man went to in order to try to steal a high-value watch. “His victim showed great courage and calmness throughout this terrifying robbery attempt.”