An apparent plot to break into the home of the late television star and singer Cilla Black during her funeral has been uncovered, days before the event is due to take place.
The entertainer’s publicist, Nick Fiveash, said security had been increased and all valuables removed from the property in Denham, Buckinghamshire, after a “professionally cut circular hole” was discovered in its perimeter fence.
An inquest into the 72-year-old’s death on 1 August at her villa in Estepona, on Spain’s Costa del Sol, ruled earlier on Friday that she died from traumatic head injuries suffered in a fall.
Robert Willis, her eldest son, said of the burglary plot: “I cannot believe someone would stoop so low at a time like this. It’s inconceivable. Thankfully it was discovered in time.”
Fiveash said: “The police were immediately informed, 24-hour security has been increased on the property and all valuable assets including art, jewellery and her personal items have been removed and taken to a secured unit at an unknown location. It looks as if they have been preparing to burgle the house during the funeral. The hole in the chain-link fence was cut in a very secluded place and it was not there before.
“It’s a difficult time; today was the inquest and next will be the funeral. Her sons have been really brave and dignified and are carrying on for their mum.”
The Denham house was a wedding gift to Black from her husband, Bobby Willis, who died in 1999.
A Thames Valley police spokeswoman said: “Thames Valley police was informed of criminal damage at a property in Denham today. Detectives are investigating the matter.”
The inquest into Black’s death, held in her native Liverpool, heard that she died after hitting her head on the villa’s terrace. Postmortem examination details released by Spanish authorities suggest she died from a rare form of stroke caused by the fall.
The coroner Andre Rebello recorded an official verdict of accidental death at a brief hearing at Liverpool coroner’s court, using her real name, Priscilla Maria Veronica Willis.
Black’s three sons, Ben, Robert and Jack, sat in court for the 15-minute hearing. Addressing them, Rebello said: “She was your mum and her death is a private, personal matter and we have all got one mum. It is right that you grieve and remember her. Far more important is that you celebrate her life, but your mum was far more than just your mum. She was a daughter of Liverpool and she was a celebrity and loved by all in Liverpool and that will be part of her abiding memory and memorial.
“But you will have personal, private memories of her as mum. It is those memories of the ordinary things she did, normal family events, the love shared and the love given, that must be her abiding memory, not just for this generation, but for each born in the future.”
Rebello said she was discovered by her son at 5.30pm and certified as having died by the paramedic at 6.10pm. The fall itself was not seen by anyone. “The thrust of the evidence clearly points to only one conclusion: she died from accidental death. She was a singer and widow of Robert Willis, a manager.”
Black’s sons left without commenting. The funeral will take place in Liverpool on 2 August at St Mary’s Church, Woolton, where she married Willis in 1969.
Thousands of fans are expected to gather to pay tribute to Black, who had a string of hits in the 1960s including two No 1s: Anyone Who Had a Heart and You’re My World. She went on to become one of the nation’s favourite entertainers, hosting more than 500 editions of Blind Date and Surprise Surprise.
After the funeral Black will be buried alongside her parents in a private ceremony at Allerton cemetery.
The Rt Rev Thomas Williams, auxiliary bishop of Liverpool and former parish priest of St Anthony’s, will officiate at the Catholic funeral mass.
Tributes have flooded in for Black, led by close friends such as Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Paul McCartney and Christopher Biggins, and a book of condolence has been opened for her at Liverpool town hall.
In a sign of her enduring appeal, Black’s greatest hits compilation climbed to number eight in the UK album chart on Friday evening. The Very Best Of Cilla Black re-entered the top 20 for the first time in 32 years last week. The album, which was first released in 1983 and most recently re-released in 2013, marks her highest-charting album in 47 years.
