Black day at Ozzy's place

Rock singer Ozzy Osbourne has became the latest victim of celebrity burglaries after thieves stole an estimated £1 million of jewels from his Buckinghamshire home.

The singer accosted two men who broke into the his 18th-century manor in Chalfont St Peters during an early morning robbery. The intruders used a ladder to get to a window.

The former frontman of Black Sabbath lived up to his rugged rock-star credentials after being woken by the two burglars.

He grabbed one, but the man managed to struggle free, then jumped out of the window and made off.

Police believe the burglar would have been injured in his leap for freedom.

The family, who were propelled to a second round of fame by the success of their eponymous reality television show The Osbournes, moved from the United States to the British property while Ozzy's wife, Sharon, appeared on the television show The X-Factor.

Their children were not believed to be in the house at the time of the burglary.

Kelly, their singer daughter, is spending time in Vancouver, and their son Jack is in Los Angeles.

The incident marks the latest in a string of mishaps to befall the Osbourne family.

The property, which is set in 4ha of woodland, was the setting of Ozzy's quad bike accident last December.

He was in a coma for eight days after the accident in which he broke his collarbone, six ribs and a vertebra.

The singer said his life was saved by his bodyguard, who resuscitated him at the scene.

Sharon has undergone a much-publicised battle with cancer and her American talk show was canned earlier this year.

The burglary is the latest in a series of thefts targeting the homes of celebrities.

An armed gang broke into the home of Cilla Black in Denham, Buckinghamshire, in August last year while she was spending time overseas.

The intruders held a knife to the throat of her 22-year-old son before stealing jewels, cash and gold valued at more than 1 million pounds.

Two years ago, Jemima Khan, the former wife of Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan, was at her London home with her two sons when a balaclava-clad man broke into the property.

As she hid in a bedroom with her children, a bodyguard fought off the intruder, who eventually fled empty-handed.

- INDEPENDENT