London: Simon Cowell is believed to have left horrified after coming face to face with a female intruder who broke into his house armed with a brick and lay on his bed.
In an astonishing security lapse, it is thought the woman wandered around the pop mogul’s West London home, lying on his bed and walking into his bathroom.
Cowell, 52, was said to be ‘pretty shaken up’ after the incident at 10:30 am on Saturday night.
The woman is believed to have got into the house through a downstairs window as he was watching television in a lounge.
“It was an absolutely terrifying experience. Seeing this woman standing there in my house was like something out of a horror movie,” the Daily Mail quoted Cowell as telling a friend.
“It was frightening but I’m going to take it as a warning. In some ways I’ve been lucky. You have to look on the positive side because it could have been a whole lot worse.
“I now know that I need to improve my security. She could have had a gun,” he said.
It was initially believed by those close to Cowell that the intruder was an ‘over-zealous fan.’
After getting into the property – said to be worth 9 million pounds – the woman is said to have gone from room to room.
According to a source, at one point she was ‘lying on Simon’s bed in his bedroom’.
The intruder was eventually detained by some of Cowell’s staff and security. Nothing is believed to have been taken from the property.
Following the arrest, the police continued to search the grounds of the house.
The incident took place just after 10pm, not long after the ITV screening of his return to the judging panel of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.
“It was a frightening experience. Simon’s fine but shaken up. He didn’t expect something like that to happen,” a friend said.
Police have charged the woman, Leanne Zaloumis, 29, from South East London, with one count of aggravated burglary.
She is due to appear before West London Magistrates’ Court Monday.
ANI