A man has been jailed for 11 years for attempting to rob Premier League striker Andy Carroll of his £22,000 wristwatch.
Convicted burglar Jack O'Brien, 22, was found guilty at Basildon Crown Court of trying to rob the West Ham striker as he drove home from the club's training ground on 2nd November 2016.
Carroll was at a set of traffic lights in his Jeep Wrangler in Hainault, northeast London, when O'Brien pulled up beside him on a motorcycle and demanded his watch.
The Premier League star was then pursued by two suspects on motorbikes as he tried to escape, forcing him onto the wrong side of the road as he drove back to the training ground where there was security staff.
The second driver has not been located.
In his 999 call, Carroll is heard telling the operator: "Oh s***, I've hit loads of cars, I don't know what to do, he's just hit my car."
In a victim impact statement he said he believed the defendant had a gun – adding that he "feared for his life."
O'Brien, of Navarre Gardens, Romford, east London, was found guilty by a jury of six men and six women after six hours and 25 minutes of deliberations.
He was given a sentence of 11 years and three months for the attempted robbery on Carroll and a previous "campaign of burglaries."
The defendant claimed he was not the biker in question and, while he had used the motorbike gear for other crimes, he had not on that occasion.
His account was rejected by jurors.
