Raiders take footballer's medal

Sport memorabilia was taken from the footballer's home

An Olympic bronze medal and a collection of Liverpool and Brazil shirts have been stolen from the home of a Merseyside footballer.

Raiders struck at the home of 21-year-old Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva in Woolton on Tuesday.

The Brazil international was playing at Anfield against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League during the break-in.

The burglary is the latest in a series of raids on the homes of Liverpool players.

In most cases, the thefts have happened while the footballers have been playing in matches.

The raid follows burglaries in the last 18 months at the homes of England dynamo Steven Gerrard, Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt, goalkeeper Pepe Reina, defender Daniel Agger and former players Peter Crouch and Jerzy Dudek.

A police spokesman said the stolen items in the latest raid had "significant personal importance" to the footballer.

Acting Det Ch Insp Peter Parry, from Merseyside Police, said: "Taken from the address was an amount of jewellery and some very distinctive football and sports memorabilia.

"These items have significant personal importance to Mr Leiva and they were associated with some very cherished memories."

Lucas Leiva won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.