A burglar reportedly made the most of a bodyguard’s visit to the loo to break into Cowell’s west London mansion and rob it while the magnate, his girlfriend Lauren Silverman and their 21-month-old son Eric were sleeping.
The thief would allegedly have been able to make off with half a million euros in jewellery were it not for the intervention of Portuguese security guard M’Batonha Mendes.
Mendes, who works for a private firm, was conducting rounds by car in Cowell’s neighbourhood, Holland Park, when he spotted the burglar.
According to reports the would-be thief dropped something; Mendes is said to have found his movements suspicious and stopped to see what had fallen.
Noting it was Simon Cowell’s passport, Mendes approached the burglar and tried to grab him, but he apparently dropped his bag of loot in fright and fled the scene running.
Mendes, who told the British press his daughter is an avid fan of the X Factor, returned the jewellery to Simon Cowell’s mansion, to find that the body guard who had taken a loo break had already been fired.
M’Batonha Mendes is understood to have been born in Guinea Bissau but acquired Portuguese nationality in 2005.
He reportedly did not meet Simon Cowell that night but the millionaire entertainment executive is said to have phoned Mendes’ employer to thank him and reportedly would like to meet him in person.
Speaking to The Sun about the break-in, Simon Cowell said: “That was the first thing we did, to make sure he [Eric] was OK. Apart from the fact someone broke into my house and stole my stuff, which is scary, it could have been worse. Thankfully no one was hurt.”
He has described Mendes as a “hero” and said he will be getting a Christmas bonus.