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With more than 20 burglaries over the last few years in north-west England alone, footballers are being told it's time they beefed up their security.

Players and their relatives are increasingly being targeted by criminal gangs.

Now the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) is urging those who can pay for it to consider hiring bodyguards.

In leafy Cheshire, many footballers live in luxury with long driveways leading up to huge mansions, each one slightly more impressive than the last.

Most back on to a golf course, complete with picturesque lake and it's here Newsbeat meets Paul Hughes. He's stocky, a bit scary looking, and wears black shades he never takes off.

He's no stranger to this area - he was the Beckhams' private security guard for eight years and now runs his own company looking after several of the highest profile players from clubs including Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool.

Today he's taking Newsbeat on a security check around his clients' houses. Newsbeat has agreed not to mention any names.

We fit in well, sitting in Paul's Range Rover, complete with the customary blacked-out windows. As we start to drive around Paul explains the houses we're looking at are worth between four and 20 million pounds.

Violent robbery

"There have been a few people robbed, one of the footballers was done only a couple of months back up here, who wasn't unfortunately signed up to us at the time.

"It was quite a violent robbery. He had a few guys run into his house and threaten him and his friends who were there and basically took all their watches and things like that. They made him open the safe and made away with what they could grab."

Apparently many of the people living round here don't think they should have to pay for extra security, relying on the police instead. But for those clients he does have, Paul says they increase checks when the footballers are playing away.

"If they're going away on tour, or even if they're away for just one night, they've got their family at home and they want to make sure they're looked after. We go so far as supplying them with two or three guards that will sit at the house day in, day out until they return and they feel quite safe again."

Luxury mansions

Paul drives up to the gates of one of the biggest houses he looks after.

We pull up at the big electric gates while Paul jumps out to enter in the security code.

He explains the importance of driving through then waiting the extra minute for the gates to close, making sure no one creeps in behind.

The house is hidden away deep in the trees and you can't spot it from the road at all.

It has a cinema, a bar, a swimming pool, a tennis court and a massive electric garage housing the owners cars.

After a quick call to the house to check everything's OK, and a look around, we head off again.

This check is done up to three times a day, then when it gets dark a bodyguard sits outside all night.

Any problems and the client will call the security guard or hit a special panic button.

Paul agrees these footballers need to hire private security, but then he would because it makes him money.

He also thinks more should be done to help protect them by the clubs and the FA, and that the footballers should do more to protect themselves.

"Someone gives you 60 grand, you think, 'Oh great, I'm going out,' and you go out and blow it all.

"The press are all over it taking pictures of you buying your nice cars and your fancy watches, so every man and his dog now knows you've got this property and they know that you're going to have it on you as a target."