A man has been charged following an armed robbery at the home of Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish.
Four intruders entered his home in the Ongar area of Essex in what police described as a “targeted incident” in the early hours of November 27, as he was recovering from significant injuries from a crash at a track event in Belgium.
Essex Police say Romario Henry, 30, will appear before Colchester Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Henry, of Bell Green in Lewisham, south-east London, has been charged with two counts of robbery.
Police said two 27-year-old men – one from Gillingham, in Kent, and one from Camberwell, south-east London – were also arrested last week.
They have been released on bail until January.
Cavendish revealed details of the horrifying robbery in an Instagram post earlier this month.
The sportsman said that “four masked and armed men forced their way into our home as we slept, threatened my wife and children and violent attacked me”.
“At knifepoint they proceeded to ransack our belongings,” he said.
None of the family sustained serious injuries and the burglars left, stealing a Louis Vuitton suitcase and two high-value watches, the force said.
Cavendish added in a statement: “As I’m sure you will understand, this incident has left our family extremely distressed – not just myself and Peta but our children as well, who feared for their lives and are now struggling with the after-effects.
“No one should have to experience the sort of violence and threats made against us, let alone this happening in a family home – a place where everyone should feel safe.
“The items taken are simply material goods and our priority at the moment is to make sure we all recover from the incident as a family, and we know this is likely to take some time.”
