KNIFE-WIELDING raiders stole more than £60,000 in cash from the Basingstoke home of a professional gambler who is part of a high-earning betting syndicate. Someone with inside information about the amount of money at David Dixon's house, in Kempshott Park, must have planned the burglary, a judge at Winchester Crown Court was told. Basingstoke dad Michael Byrne, 43, was jailed on Friday for seven-and-a-half years after carrying out the raid with an accomplice, who is still on the run. Prosecutor Tim Moores told the court that victim Mr Dixon gambles in a syndicate with four other men. He said: "They meet every day, work office hours, and pool their collective experience and information to choose the sports they will bet on. "They lay on substantial bets and collect their winnings." Mr Moores added: "Police inquiries have revealed that they have been fairly successful", and said that the men do not use bank accounts. On February 2, they collected £60,535 in cash from successful bets earlier in the week. This was taken by Mr Dixon, 40, to his home in the Beggarwood Lane area of Kempshott Park, ready to be placed on further bets. He was at home with his Malaysian-born wife at 9pm when he answered a knock at the door to find Byrne and his accomplice on the doorstep, wearing hoods and brandishing large kitchen knives. He was forced back into the hallway and suffered cuts to his hands as he grabbed one of the knives in self-defence. Byrne, a father of three from Warwick Road, Winklebury, tied Mr Dixon up and the other raider grabbed the £60,535 from a bedroom, where it was laid out after being counted. The raiders fled but police apprehended Byrne in a Vauxhall Astra car in Winklebury half-an-hour later. They found £42,000 in cash on him and in the vehicle, along with two knives. He told detectives he was promised £15,000 for carrying out the crime but refused to reveal the identity of his accomplice. The prosecutor told Judge Andrew Barnett: "There's an acceptance by the police that there must have been someone with inside information about Mr Dixon's movements and who knew there would be a large amount of cash there at his house on the day. "They have no leads as to who that might be, although inquiries continue." Byrne pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary committed with a weapon of offence, but not guilty to robbery, and the prosecution offered no evidence on this. The court heard that he has previous convictions for violence, fraud, drugs and driving offences. Richard Martin, defending, said his client suffered a serious road accident in 2001, sustaining injuries that mean he faces a lifetime of operations. He received £150,000 in compensation but is a gambling addict and blew it on bets, racking up huge debts. Byrne stood with his head bowed as Judge Barnett told him: "You thus became an easy victim to those who recruited you to this enterprise." Sentencing Byrne, the judge said Mr and Mrs Dixon had suffered "a horrifying experience". Detective Constable Wes Arnold, of Basingstoke CID, said inquiries into the gambling ring had shown it to be a legal enterprise, and the investigation into the raid is ongoing. The rest of the stolen cash has not been recovered. He added: "The police feel justice has been served. "We will robustly investigate any offence of this nature."