Soccer star Francis’s son ‘broke into home’

James Francis is alleged to have stolen a quantity of designer goods, including a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes, from the home of former Aston Villa star Lee Hendrie in the summer of 2011.

Francis, from Solihull, is also accused of stealing six souvenir football shirts, a set of golf clubs, sunglasses, a watch, and a Vertu mobile phone from the one-bedroom cottage, part of a property at Rowington, Warwickshire.

Prosecutor Trevor Meegan claimed two thumb-prints matching James Francis were found on a door panel and one of four pieces of torn cardboard found inside the cottage.

He said told the court the burglary occurred whilst the former Sheffield United player and his wife, Emma, were on holiday.

“Our case is that the burglar was James Francis,” Mr Meegan told the jury.

Francis, 26, denies burgling Mr Hendrie’s home.

Hendrie, who bought the property for £1.6m in 2007, was the first witness in the crown court case at Warwickshire Justice Centre in Leamington Spa.

He said he was devastated to have lost “stuff that cannot be replaced”, including football shirts.

The jury heard Hendrie’s father, Paul, was a team-mate of Trevor Francis at Birmingham City in the 1970s, and members of the two families were long-standing friends.

Hendrie, 36, said he was friends with James Francis and that he had “a lot of respect” for Trevor Francis. He accepted the two families had been “essentially intertwined” in their social lives over a number of years.

He was shocked to learn there was evidence linking James Francis to the burglary, he said.

James Francis’s brother Matt had been an usher at his wedding, Hendrie said, adding: “I just knew James from the family, Matt was my closest friend. Obviously I didn’t expect James to be involved.”

Hendrie, who was made bankrupt in December 2012 owing almost £250,000, was asked whether he was “quite sure” all the items reported stolen were being stored in the cottage.

“A lot of my own personal stuff was in there – it was in our home property. I thought it would be safe,” he said.

The case continues.