Drug-addict cleaner who stole £56,000 of luxury items including Rolexes and Cartier bracelets from Stoke City captain Ben Gibson’s Cheshire mansion is spared jailed

A drug-addicted cleaner who stole £56,000 worth of luxury items from Stoke City captain Ben Gibson’s Cheshire mansion has been spared prison.

Bruno De Souza Borba, 31, called the former Burnley and Middlesbrough star’s home while he was playing in the Championship match against Portsmouth.

The court heard the Brazilian was appointed as Gibson’s cleaner in 2024 and was subsequently sacked due to his “unreliability”.

But Stoke’s 33-year-old centre-half gave De Souza Borba a second chance after the cleaner demanded more work following the breakdown of his marriage.

But just a few days later, Gibson returned home to Cheshire, where he lived with his wife and two children, to find that his Rolex Daytona black dial, his Rolex black green GMT, his Cartier Juste un clou bracelet and his Ecrou de Cartier bracelet had disappeared from his bedroom drawer.

Cheshire Crown Court heard other more expensive watches were left untouched.

Police raided De Souza Borba’s home in Eccles, Salford, where they found jewelery hidden in a hidden space behind the kitchen cupboard. The thief later sold one of the recovered items on eBay.

Two wraps of cocaine were also found by police, but Gibson was completely unaware of the Brazilian’s drug habit.

Gibson said in a statement that his family had been “mentally and emotionally” affected by the thefts.

Gibson said in a statement that his family had been “mentally and emotionally” affected by the thefts.

The defender also revealed that he planned to give one of the watches to his son for sentimental reasons. Meanwhile, his wife, now struggling to sleep, was wondering what might have happened if she had caught the culprit red-handed.

De Souza Borba admitted theft and possession of cocaine and wept in the dock this week as he was sentenced to 12 months in prison and suspended for 18 months.

He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and ten days of rehabilitation activity.

Prosecutor Peter Hussey said: ‘In September 2025 the defendant separated from his partner and as a result became somewhat unreliable. Mr Gibson got fed up and told the defendant he was no longer engaged, but about a week later the defendant contacted Mr Gibson again and asked if he could still do some cleaning work.

‘Obviously she was strapped for money due to the breakdown of her marriage and Mr Gibson allowed her access to the property. On October 24, the defendant came to do some cleaning.

‘Mr Gibson was away until Saturday evening but did not check the drawer where he kept this jewel until Monday morning and found some items missing.

‘He was surprised that two other expensive watches, more expensive than the missing ones, were still in the drawer. This led him to believe that the person who committed the theft did not know the value of the items.

‘He checked on his partner but his partner hadn’t moved them so they checked the CCTV. Police went to the defendant’s home and directed him to a secret location where the defendant hid most of the items he had stolen.

‘She had removed the middle shelf of the kitchen cabinet, pushed the back of it, and stuffed the jewelery into plastic bags in the space between it and the wall.

‘Fortunately, with his help, that item was also saved. ‘During the interview, the defendant was sincere and burst into tears as he admitted what he had done.’

Sentencing, Judge Simon Berkson said: ‘Although Mr Gibson and his family have not suffered a financial loss, they have lost out in another way. It is always sad to let someone into your home and allow that person to steal items; in this case one of them has potential sentimental value.

‘You had your own problems at the time and drugs were clearly a problem. That’s why you were using cocaine at the time. ‘If it wasn’t for the desperation you were in at the time, you wouldn’t have committed the crimes.’