The famous Premier League hardman had quite the welcome for a burglar who entered his home
Duncan Ferguson speaking on the Stick to Football podcast
Duncan Ferguson opened up about a terrifying ordeal he once experienced(Image: YouTube/The Overlap)
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Few players in Premier League history struck fear into opponents quite like Duncan Ferguson - and one unlucky intruder learned that reality the hard way.
As two of Ferguson's old clubs, Everton and Newcastle, prepare to square off in the Carabao Cup on Thursday night, the current Glentoran boss has lifted the lid on the night his fearsome reputation almost took an irreversible turn.
Two intruders broke into the Scottish striker's home in January 2001 whilst his wife and six-month-old daughter were inside and one encountered the full fury of the Toffees icon. He has disclosed that the confrontation ended with him performing CPR on the burglar, terrified that he had killed the individual.
Ferguson, who was 29 at the time, recounted the chilling encounter with one of the two intruders on the BBC podcast Tony Bellew Is Angry. He claimed: "I'm lying on the couch. I heard something. I put my trainers on. I had no top on, I was ripped back then and I could see two shadows coming through the conservatory. I was quite calm.
"I am quite calm with these things, probably because I've had one or two of these situations in the past, you get used to it. I got a grip of one of them and that was when I got angry...
Duncan Ferguson
Ferguson has been subject to more than one attempted robbery (Image: Getty)
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"I unloaded, I really did. I really followed in to the point where I thought I'd killed him, I really did. I had to try and resuscitate him then. So you go from a point of unloading on the fella to helping him. It happened in a matter of seconds."
The perpetrators behind the break-in, Michael Pratt and Barry Dawson, admitted their guilt and were handed 15-month prison sentences. Dawson required three days of hospital treatment following injuries inflicted by Ferguson.
The pair had tried to make off with bottles of champagne, a framed picture and CDs. Judge Anthony Procter told Dawson and Pratt at their sentencing: "There is no way you can be called hardened criminals but we are dealing with a burglary at night when the house was occupied.
"Mr Ferguson may give the impression of being a hard man, but it is clear he was shaken by this incident, primarily for the effects on his wife and young child."
Despite listing the property for sale following the frightening ordeal, Ferguson faced a second attempted burglary at his £2million Formby residence two years on.
Carl Bishop required two days of hospital care after attempting to steal alcohol from the Toffees legend's outbuilding. He was confronted by Ferguson and sustained a broken jaw along with the loss of three teeth. He was given a four-year prison term for trespassing with intent to steal and a 12-month term for breaching his licence conditions.
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