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Jamie Oliver offers £150,000 reward

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has offered a £150,000 reward to help police catch the robbers who stole £10,000 from the pub where he grew up.

Five men armed with baseball bats and hammers raided The Cricketers at Clavering, Essex, which is owned by the chef's parents Trevor and Sally, police said.

The gang attacked at around 11pm on Sunday 15 April 2007 as the pub was closing and made off with cash from a till and a safe.

A spokesman for the chef said Oliver, on a business trip in America, would hand over the money to anyone who could produce information that would lead to an arrest and conviction.

He added: "He is angry. He grew up in the pub and first started to learn to cook there.

The Cricketers, Clavering "These guys have gone in armed with a hammer, scared the customers, scared the staff and pushed an elderly member of staff to the floor. He's offering £150,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any of these people responsible.

"He's disappointed and shocked that this kind of thing happens in a small Essex Village."

Oliver talks about growing up at the pub on his website, where he describes The Cricketers as "lovely".

His father has appeared with him on television food programmes.

"My dad runs a lovely pub-restaurant, The Cricketers, in Clavering, Essex, where I grew up," writes the chef. "I remember being fascinated by what went on in the kitchen. It just seemed such a cool place, everyone working together to make this lovely stuff and having a laugh doing it."