A FORMER Ipswich Town midfielder has spectacularly fallen from grace today after financial difficulties led him to burgle a Hadleigh flat.Nabil Abidallah, 23, joined Town as a 16-year-old from Dutch footballing giants Ajax and made a handful of appearances for Ipswich in the Premiership.

A FORMER Ipswich Town midfielder has spectacularly fallen from grace today after financial difficulties led him to burgle a Hadleigh flat.

Nabil Abidallah, 23, joined Town as a 16-year-old from Dutch footballing giants Ajax and made a handful of appearances for Ipswich in the Premiership.

But today the player, previous heralded as a talent like Kieron Dyer, he has been left a shadow of his former self after resorting to burgling a house in Station Yard, Hadleigh.

The raid happened last year after the Dutch footballer was evicted from the property for failing to pay his rent.

He started renting a room at the home in August 2004 while playing for Clacton Town in the Ridgeons League Premier Division but in February 2005 was threatened with eviction after not paying up.

Soon after he is believed to have disappeared from the flat, leaving behind some of his belongings.

In May he is thought to have let himself into the property and stolen electrical goods including a Bang and Olufsen VCR and flat screen TV valued at £5,000 - taking them to Cash Converters where he gave his name to staff.

The householder reported him to the police and they investigated but found no trace of Abidallah.

A warrant was issued for his arrest and he was finally detained at Harwich International Port last Sunday .

Abidallah , now of Hoofdweg, Amsterdam was subsequently charged and appeared at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to burglary and was given a three-year conditional discharge.

The Evening Star contacted Abidallah in Holland but he declined to comment on the matter.

Have you been a victim of burglary? Write to: Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail: eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.

Abidallah was brought to Town in July 2000 with fellow Dutch teenager Guillermo Graavan on the recommendation of then European chief scout Romeo Zondervon.

He made an impressive first team debut against Colchester a year later and formed part of the 2002 Reserve League winning side but never achieved regular first-team football.

During the 2003-04 season he went on loan to Northampton Town.

His Ipswich contract expired in June 2004.

In 2004-05 season he played for Heybridge Swifts and Clacton Town