Liverpool player's home targeted

A number of footballers have been targeted in the past 18 months

The luxury property of Liverpool footballer Jermaine Pennant has been targeted in an incident of criminal damage, said detectives.

The gates to the midfielder's home on Hale Road, Hale Village, near Widnes, Cheshire, were damaged at 0140 GMT.

It is believed the gates were ram-raided during an attempted burglary at the property.

A spokesman for Liverpool Football Club said the matter of security was a personal issue for players.

A spokesman for Cheshire Police said: "At 1.40am on 1 December police were informed of an incident of criminal damage at a property on Hale Road, Hale, Widnes."

Last month burglars broke into the home of Liverpool's Lucas Leiva.

There have also been burglaries in the past 18 months at the homes of England midfielder Steven Gerrard, Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt, goalkeeper Pepe Reina, defender Daniel Agger and former Liverpool players Peter Crouch and Jerzy Dudek.