London: Criminals have firebombed the multimillion-pound home of the socialite Petra Ecclestone in west London.
A petrol bomb was thrown into the Chelsea property she shares with her husband, James Stunt, and their three young children. Fortunately, the family was out at the time.
“The whole family is really alarmed by this,” said a friend of Petra, 27, younger daughter of the Formula 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone.
“It’s horrific. They are determined to find out who was behind the attack,” the friend said.
No arrests have yet been made, but CCTV footage apparently shows two men running away from the £66 million property last month after the bomb fell close to Petra’s Range Rover.
Petra, a model and fashion designer, dated Stunt, 34, for four years before they married in 2011. The wedding, near Rome, reportedly cost £12 million.
A spokesman for the couple said the attack is “thought to be the action of a disaffected member of the public who disapproves of the Stunts’ lifestyle”.
The pair have three children: Lavinia Stunt, 3, and 11-month-old twins James Robert Fredrick Stunt Jr and Andrew Kulbir Stunt.
A Metropolitan police spokesman said: “Police were called to reports of a fire outside a residential property. Officers and the London Fire Brigade attended the scene. The fire was dealt with.
“Detectives from Kensington and Chelsea are investigating. No arrests have been made and inquiries into the circumstances continue.”
Socialite, model and fashion designer Petra is the daughter of F1 boss Bernie and Armani model Slavica.
She married husband James in Rome in 2011 wearing an £80,000 Vera Wang dress.
Petra’s older sister, Tamara, has meanwhile said that she is finally “at peace” in her life after addressing “tiresome” divorce rumours.
The Formula One heiress, who is about to celebrate her third wedding anniversary with the businessman Jay Rutland, made a very 21st century declaration of their strength of their marriage on Instagram in March, urging people not to “invent and spread” rumours.
It followed months of speculation that a court case involving Mr Rutland had put strain on the marriage. Charges of assisting an offender dating back to 2010 were eventually dropped last month.
While his daughters were dealing with different issues in their personal lives, Bernie was mulling to bring Formula One to the streets of London as early as next year.
In a report published in independent.ie, the billionaire said it would be “fantastic” to have a race in the middle of London, and believes it would be popular with viewers.
A proposed London Grand Prix, including sections past Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace, has previously been sketched out, but plans have been held up as secondary legislation is required to allow councils to close roads for high-speed road races.
“…If it can be done, then yes, we’d love to do it. There is a small technical issue, who is going to pay for it, but apart from that I can’t see any dramas.”
Bernie also believes that Lewis Hamilton, who is currently second in the drivers’ standings and 43 points behind team mate Nico Rosberg, will come back and win this season’s Championship.
