Simon Cowell feared burglar was going to snatch baby Eric in £500,000 jewellery raid foiled by security officer 'while mogul's bodyguard was in the toilet' 

Simon Cowell (pictured with his son Eric and girlfriend Lauren Silverman) has fired one of his security guards after a burglar broke into his home

Simon Cowell said he feared for his son's life in a £500,000 burglary as his family slept at his £10million mansion. 

The music mogul said he and partner Lauren Silverman rushed to check on baby Eric when they learned of the break-in in the early hours of Friday morning.

Cowell said it is 'frightening' that someone has been in their home, but said it 'could have been worse' as no-one was hurt.

He also branded security guard M'Bathonha Mendes a 'hero' after he chased down the thieves and recovered the stolen jewellery and Cowell's passport.

Cowell promised Mendes a Christmas bonus but said he will fire his bodyguard, who was totally oblivious to the theft as he was 'in the toilet'.

He said: '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,' reportsThe Sun.

Mr Cowell added: 'The most frightening thing is someone has been in your house. It's not what they steal, it's that's someone can break into your house. It's nerve-racking.

'There are private security guards who patrol the area and they saw the guy leave and he dropped my passport.

'[One] got out the car, picked up my passport, realised it was mine and approached the guy. The guy ran off and then he [the guard] told us there was somebody who'd burgled the house – that's how we found out about it.'

Last night Cowell revealed how Mendes, employed to patrol the neighbourhood, had confronted the burglar after seeing him drop something in the street.

After discovering the object was Cowell’s passport, he gave chase and managed to grab a bag containing some valuables from the man. The thief, however, managed to escape.

Cowell said that the man had raided the safe and stolen goods worth six figures.

Outside his home last night, Cowell said: ‘That man is a hero and will be getting a Christmas bonus.’ Asked about his own security staff, he added: ‘One person won’t be here any more.’ 

The music mogul was at his £10 million West London house with his girlfriend Lauren Silverman and their baby son Eric when the burglar raided a safe at about 2.20am on Friday

Mendes explained how he saw the man, wearing a wooly hat covering most of his face, and approached him at and he was on high alert because there have been a spate of burglaries in the area in the last three weeks.

The patrol guard said that the man immediately jumped and ran, adding 'fear is my friend'.

He added: 'The adrenaline just kicked in. He was trying to get something out of the bag and I ran up to him, put my hand on his shoulder and said, 'wait a second',' reports The Sunday Mirror.

Joking about his Yorkshire terriers Squiddly and Diddly, Cowell added: ‘We have the worst guard dogs in the world. Maybe we’ll get bigger dogs.’

A family friend said: ‘It’s a shock and quite scary but the family are safe and that’s the most important thing. Possessions can be replaced. It is believed there is a clear image of the suspect on CCTV which has been shared with police. Simon loves the house and won’t be moving. Life must go on.’

A neighbour last night claimed there had been eight burglaries in the area over the past three weeks. ‘People here are locking their internal doors,’ they added. ‘The culprit has been spotted a few times – he is 6ft 4in with dark skin. On one occasion he got in through the dog flap.’ 

Cowell hailed another guard who nearly apprehended the thief as a ‘hero’ – and said he would soon be receiving a Christmas bonus

Yesterday, police confirmed there had been at least three burglaries on three streets around Cowell’s home since November and they were investigating the possibility that they are linked.

Cowell mentioned the burglary on Saturday night's X Factor, joking that Reggie 'N' Bollie's song Locked Away was 'very appropriate'.

He referred to the incident after the first act performed on the semi-final of the ITV show.

Reggie 'N' Bollie, who are mentored by Cheryl Fernandez Versini, sang Locked Away by R City featuring Adam Levine.

When he was asked what he thought of their performance, Cowell said: 'What was that about?'

He then joked: 'Very appropriate the night after I get burgled.'

Meanwhile, Cowell does not have any acts left in this year's competition, which will come to a close with next weekend's grand final.