Andy Carroll's armed robbery was mocked by former West Ham player Martin Allen - on the London Stadium tannoy.

Carroll was targeted by thieves who wanted his £22,000 watch and followed the former England striker out of the Hammers' training ground in November 2016.

The thief has since been found guilty of the attempted robbery, in which Carroll was said to have "feared for his life" in the ordeal.

Allen, who played for the Hammers between 1989 and 1995, was a special guest at West Ham's game against Huddersfield on Monday night.

Allen was back at West Ham as a special guest (
Image:
PA Archive/PA)

But he made an ill-advised comment when asked about Carroll's return to the starting XI during a half-time interview.

"At least he turned up on time without his watch," Allen said.

The comment was greeted with awkwardness around the stadium.

Carroll made his return to playing action on Monday night (
Image:
Action Images via Reuters)

In a victim impact statement Carroll, who believed the defendant had a gun, said he "feared for his life" and now travels to and from training with security guards.

The court heard that two motorbikes chased the 6ft 4in striker's camouflage green Jeep as he drove on the wrong side of the road to get away, and he eventually got back to West Ham's training ground where there were security staff.