Mark Cavendish robbery accused was 'learning to walk again'

A former delivery driver accused of armed robbery at the home of cyclist Mark Cavendish told jurors he struggled to walk because of a stab injury.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard masked raiders broke into the house in Ongar, Essex, in November 2021, while the family slept.

Two suspects on trial each deny two counts of robbery.

Oludewa Okorosobo, 28, said he was stabbed twice - in the head and the leg - in September 2021.

"It's been a life-changing injury," he said, giving evidence as the first defence witness at Chelmsford Crown Court.

He claimed he fell from the back of a motorbike in Hounslow, west London, before five males surrounded him, including one brandishing a 22-inch "Rambo-style" knife.

Mr Okorosobo said he was stabbed, and "just before they ran off, one of them said: 'Stop, it's not him, he's not one of them'."

He said he was told he needed an operation to save his leg in hospital and also fractured bones in his hand and left elbow.

The defendant, who limped to the witness box with his left leg in a brace and left arm in a sling, added: "I had to learn how to walk again."

Mr Okorosobo said he previously worked as a delivery driver for a hospitality firm at the Olympic Stadium in 2012, for a car sales company and as a personal trainer.

The trial has heard how suspects made off with two Richard Mille watches, valued at £400,000 and £300,000, after threatening to stab Mr Cavendish.

The couple were in bed with their three-year-old son.

A 999-call from Mr Cavendish's wife Peta Cavendish made at 02:35 GMT, lasting seven minutes and 16 seconds, was played to jurors on Tuesday.

She told a police call handler: "They were just shouting 'where are the watches, where are the watches?'"

In police body-worn camera audio, Mrs Cavendish can also be heard telling an officer she forgot to put a burglar alarm on before going to bed.

The couple said they found a patio door smashed in.

"They were saying 'that's not the watch we're looking for'," she told an officer.

"When they had the knife to him [Mr Cavendish] they said 'do you want me to stab you?"'

Jurors were told Mr Cavendish, the 37-year-old joint record holder for winning stages in the Tour de France, was an ambassador for the watch designer Richard Mille.

His wife said she was also made a one-of-a-kind model.

Romario Henry, 31, of Bell Green, Lewisham, south east London, and Mr Okorosobo, of Flaxman Road, Camberwell, south London, are the two men on trial.

Ali Sesay, 28, of Holding Street, Rainham, Kent, admitted two counts of robbery at an earlier hearing.

A fourth and fifth suspect, Jo Jobson and George Goddard, were named as suspects by police and remained at large.

The trial continues.

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