A GANG is being hunted after a £2million raid on homes featured in TV show Ted Lasso.
Swanky houses were ransacked in London’s Richmond Green.
Locals say they were targeted after appearing in the comedy starring Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham.
Four homes, including a £3.3million property used by Hannah Waddingham’s character, were targeted by suspected professional criminals.
Victims include rock star Richard Ashcroft, who had about £1million of valuables stolen.
Residents suspect the gang was attracted to the multimillion-pound homes around Richmond Green after seeing them in the Apple TV+ series.
One said: “It’s devastating. People are terrified they are going to be hit next.”
An eight-bedroom home was the first to be raided, on November 2. The burglars stole a safe containing valuables including jewellery.
The traumatised tenants then moved out, according to neighbours.
Early last month, raiders tried to break into a home used in Ted Lasso by Hannah’s businesswoman character Rebecca Welton.
But the occupants were woken and the suspects fled, leaving a ladder in the garden. A four-bed house nearby was then trashed on December 18.
A bolted-down safe, said to contain about £400,000 of jewellery, was taken. The occupants had only just left, raising suspicions they were being watched.
Then, on December 29, The Verve star Richard Ashcroft and musician wife Kate Radley had their £8million home ransacked while they were away.
A neighbour called the police when alarms went off but the raiders left by the time officers came. The estimated £1million of items stolen included a Patek Philippe watch.
A neighbour said: “The police would have stood a good chance of catching the gang if they turned up when called.
“But now the gang are free to find their next target. We’re all now living in fear.”
Police are linking the break-ins, which they believe were carried out by a team of professional burglars from South America.
The police would have stood a good chance of catching the gang if they turned up when called
A neighbour
It is believed four olive-skinned suspects, wearing caps and gloves and wielding crowbars, were involved in the burglaries, while two others kept watch.
Some locals believe the gang targeted the area thanks to the hugely popular Ted Lasso series, which stars Jason Sudeikis as a US coach managing fictional London side AFC Richmond.
Much of it is set around Richmond Green, featuring listed Georgian buildings, luxurious homes, quaint pubs, cafés and shops.
One local added: “You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to work out that someone from the gang probably watched the programme at some point. They must have realised the rich pickings to be had from the area.”
The same gang may also have been behind other burglaries in the wider Richmond area, with worried residents meeting police.
Met Temporary Det Supt Dan O’Sullivan said: “We are aware of a number of burglaries in the Richmond Green area and are taking proactive steps to deter offenders and reassure residents.
“Enquiries are ongoing. It is believed that some of the break-ins may be linked.”
