Kilmarnock player ambushed by machete gang in home

KILMARNOCK midfielder Jude Winchester found his home invaded earlier this month by a gang wielding machetes and baseball bats, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity.

Jude Winchester (right) celebrates a goal against Hibernian this season. Picture: Ian Georgeson

The group of men burst into the Ulsterman’s flat near the club’s Rugby Park stadium at 6pm on Wednesday April 10. The armed men entered the flat, noticed that they had broken into the wrong home, apologised and left.

A source told the Sunday Mail: “They were armed with bats and machetes but one of them apparently said, ‘It’s okay wee man, it’s not you we’re after’, then they all scarpered.”

Winchester is believed to have travelled to Northern Ireland after giving a statement to police, but has since returned to Kilmarnock.

The gang of men escaped in a van which had been parked nearby. Police believe that the men were looking for another resident who lives in the area.

Winchester said: “I don’t know who the men were after. I think the police know though.” Police Scotland said that enquiries are continuing.