A PREMIER LEAGUE star's home was broken into while his family were inside with his Audi Q8 and Range Rover stolen.

"Professional criminal" Patrick Rafferty and his fellow thieves sneaked into Raul Jimenez's Tettenhall home while he was there with his young children.

The 35-year-old targeted Wolverhampton Wanderers all-time top Premier League goal scorer as part of his two-month crime spree which saw him swipe cars worth a total of almost £250,000.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how Rafferty was part of a gang of crooks who often disguised themselves before creeping into homes during the early hours of the morning.

Victims were often asleep when the thieves entered their Wolverhampton and Willenhall homes in order to pinch keys and flee with cars parked on driveways.

The gang forced entry into the Mexican striker's home in July last year, stealing two of his cars which were worth a total of £130,000.

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Other items snatched from the 32-year-old's home included PlayStation controllers, watches and computers, prosecutor Jonathan Barker said.

It comes after Jimenez penned a two-year deal with Fulham in July after falling out of favour at Wolves.

During their crimewave, dad-of-one Rafferty and others entered a property in Tettenhall Wood.

A Mini Countryman worth £5,800 was stolen while a family with children slept.

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The victims noticed the cars had been taken when they woke up later that morning.

Two days later, burglars broke a lock and forced their way into a home in Tettenhall.

A dad who had been asleep was suddenly woken up by a noise before realising the keys to his Porsche and Mercedes were being taken.

He courageously attempted to disturb the thieves, which caused a criminal attempting to flee in the Mercedes to lose control and hurtle into a neighbour's house.

The thieves then fled the scene on foot. A total of £5,500-worth of damage was caused to the neighbour's home.

Gang members targeted a further property that same day while a family with children were inside their home in Willenhall.

A lock was broken before the thieves snatched keys to a Ford Fiesta worth £4,000 and an £18,000 Seat Leon.

The next day, the gang broke a lock to get inside a home in Oxley but left empty-handed when they were disturbed.

A victim living at a property in Wednesfield was woken up when his Ring doorbell made a noise that same day.

He confronted the masked burglars and shouted at them before they said they wanted his car and walked off with nothing.

Thieves went on to burgle a home in Tettenhall after breaking a lock on a door.

A family with children were inside when a BMW X3, Peugeot 208 and a Citreon DS3 were swiped from their home.

Apple AirPods also taken were traced by police, linking accomplice Simon Brookes to the burglary.

The burglars then forced their way through a dining room window to get into another home, where two Mercedes worth a total of £23,000 were stolen.

An attempted burglary took place in Willenhall but masked men ran off after the female victim shouted at them.

A Toyota Avensis worth £1,500 was also taken from a property in Bilston.

The court heard how Rafferty – of no fixed abode – has 23 convictions for 58 offences including other burglaries and conspiracy to steal.

Rafferty and Brookes admitted conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to steal between July 18 and September 16 last year.

Third-strike burglar Rafferty confirmed he was involved in all 10 incidents.

Amrisha Parathalingam, defending Rafferty, said he was using drugs at the time of his offending.

Brookes, 31, pleaded on a basis and claimed he was only involved in the burglary in Tettenhall.

Simon Worlock, defending Brookes, said the dad-of-four – of Wolverhampton – was just the driver of one of the cars which was stolen and is "not proud of what he has done".

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Sentencing, Judge Michael Chambers KC said: "You were both part of a criminal gang which was focused on stealing valuable cars by identifying them on driveways and entering the dwelling house in the early hours of the morning, drilling out the locks, wearing disguises."

Rafferty was jailed for 84 months, while Brookes was locked up for 54 months on August 21.

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