A Nottinghamshire businessman has described in harrowing detail how a masked gang armed with sledgehammers and pickaxes stormed his gated home, violently assaulted him, and made off with a rare watch collection valued at approximately £1 million, alongside a trove of designer handbags. Matthew Simpson, 57, and his wife, 53, who wishes to remain unnamed, were relaxing in their Kimberley residence on the evening of Thursday, December 4 last year when the brutal incident unfolded, an attack they firmly believe was premeditated and not random.
A Terrifying Ordeal Unfolds
The couple were watching television and preparing dinner when they heard a loud bang. Within moments, two men dressed entirely in black appeared in their open-plan kitchen, having smashed through a patio door. Mr Simpson's immediate instinct was to confront the intruders, rushing towards the first man in an attempt to force him back outside. Tragically, this act of defiance led to a vicious assault.
'As I was grappling with them I took a blow to the chest and fell back onto the sofa,' Mr Simpson recounted. 'By this time my wife was here and saw me being hit and she jumped on him and told him to stop hitting me.' The second assailant, wielding a sledgehammer, struck Mr Simpson three times on the back during the struggle. The situation escalated rapidly as three additional men entered the property, all armed and shouting aggressively.
The Demand for Luxury Goods
The gang's intentions became chillingly clear as they began shouting specific demands: 'Where are the watches? Where is the safe? Where is your son?' Their son had fortuitously left for the gym just minutes before the invasion. The criminals then split up, with two men forcing Mr Simpson downstairs to open a safe, while the other three physically dragged his wife upstairs to where the majority of the prized watch collection was stored.
Mr Simpson described a surreal moment of calm after complying: 'What was weird was it just kind of stopped then, there was no more harassment, no more shouting, it just sort of stopped. They had got what they wanted.' The entire violent episode, from the initial breach to the theft, was captured on the couple's CCTV system, revealing the gang took a mere 27 seconds to traverse from nearby woodland into the heart of the home.
The Stolen Haul: A Life's Passion
The stolen property represents not just immense monetary value but profound personal sentiment. The watch collection, meticulously built over more than two decades, included exceptionally rare timepieces. Among the haul were:
- An Audemars Piguet Royal Oak QP perpetual calendar, released in limited quantities in February of the previous year.
- A Rolex 'Platona' Daytona Cosmograph, crafted entirely from platinum.
- A matching pair of ladies' and gents' rose gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'London' edition watches, with only 100 sets produced worldwide.
Additionally, a large number of the wife's designer handbags were taken, including exclusive pieces from Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Jimmy Choo, and Dior. A particularly distinctive item was a white Chanel 'Boy' handbag, a style reportedly available only from Milan.
'The watches were a passion of mine,' Mr Simpson said, emphasising their irreplaceable nature. 'They are not things you can just go out and buy, there is a lot of research that goes into them... They are generational things.' All the watches' serial numbers are registered with The Watch Register, meaning any attempt at a legitimate sale would be flagged to authorities.
Belief in a Targeted Attack
The couple are convinced this was a calculated, targeted attack. 'There is a link to us somewhere,' Mr Simpson stated. 'We don't know how close it is but we know there is some information there.' They assert that knowledge of the collection could not have been gleaned from social media, as they never shared images of the watches or bags online, and very few people were aware of its full extent. This, coupled with the gang's precise demands and rapid entry, fuels their suspicion that 'somebody who knows us' was involved.
The psychological aftermath has been severe. 'The first couple of nights we stayed away, it was very difficult, we were in shock,' Mr Simpson admitted, though the couple have since implemented enhanced security measures at their home.
Police Investigation and Crimestoppers Reward
Nottinghamshire Police have described the attack as 'vicious and frightening' and are actively pursuing multiple lines of enquiry. CCTV and automatic number plate recognition technology identified a grey hatchback vehicle with false plates on the nearby A610 at the time of the crime. The vehicle is believed to have subsequently travelled through Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, and into the West Midlands region.
In a significant development, the charity Crimestoppers is now offering a reward of up to £7,500 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. Lydia Patsalides, Regional Manager for Crimestoppers in the East Midlands, urged the public to come forward: 'Your information could help stop further violence and bring justice to this family.' The charity guarantees anonymity, allowing individuals to provide tips without leaving their name or speaking directly to the police.
Mr Simpson and his wife, who run a heating firm together and have two grown-up children, continue to cooperate fully with the investigation, hoping that the sieve of inquiry will eventually shake out the truth behind the traumatic raid on their home.
