Button gassed in burglary

Jenson Button and his wife Jessica Michibata have been gassed and robbed while holidaying on the French Riviera.

The McLaren driver, his wife and three friends are believed to have been rendered unconscious when a canister of anaesthetic gas was put into an air-conditioning vent in their St Tropez villa.

Burglars then stole jewelry and other items worth approximately £300,000.

None of the five occupants in the house were woken during the incident, giving weight to the suggestion that they were gassed.

A spokesman for Button said: "Jenson, Jessica and friends were on holiday in a rented villa in St Tropez when, on Monday evening, two men broke into the property while they all slept and stole a number of items of jewellery including, most upsettingly, Jessica's engagement ring.

"The police have indicated that this has become a growing problem in the region, with perpetrators going so far as to gas their proposed victims through the air conditioning units before breaking in.

"While unharmed, everyone involved is unsurprisingly shaken by the events."