11 men on trial over raid on Bulmer cider family home
ELEVEN men have gone on trial in connection with a multimillionpound raid at a cider-making family’s sprawling home in Somerset.
Millions of pounds of artwork and antiques were stolen from the home of Esmond and Susie Bulmer, members of the Bulmers cider family, in Bruton, Somerset in 2009.
Bristol Crown Court heard a group of burglars with intimate knowledge of the property, known as the Pavilions, went in through a side entrance before stealing the paintings.
The jury heard the Bulmer family invested “a lot of money” in their home between 2008 and 2009 to make it bigger and more palatial.
Stephen Mooney, prosecuting, said: “They had a lot of builders on site. Not all of them decided the location of the place they were working on was something they wanted to take advantage of by burgling it, but at least two did.
“It is they who planted the seed for others to nurture and grow as to this being a very soft and lucrative target.”
Mr Mooney described the burglary as a sophisticated operation that needed a lot of people.
He told the court that two of the builders working on the site, Matthew Evans and Liam Judge, were involved in the burglary.
Mr Mooney said the way the burglars entered the property required an “intimate knowledge” of it.
“That’s clearly something that the builders had acquired. Mr Judge and Mr Evans were two of those builders,” he said.
The jury heard the 11 defendants in the trial are not the only people involved, with others avoiding apprehension.
Mr Mooney said that, following the burglary, the paintings were taken to Birmingham and stored there.
“There is a register of these very well-known pieces of artwork that would be triggered in the event of a sale to a lawful antiques business,” he told the jury.
“That was the problem faced by the burglars.”
He said other items stolen from the property, such as antique cutlery, had been sold.
The trial continues.