A terrified couple were attacked by three masked robbers who burst into their bedroom armed with metal bars, a jury heard.
They were asleep with their four-year-old son when the raiders forced a door lock at their Leicester home, in the early hours of October 14.
Both adults were punched in the face and had gold necklaces pulled off them.
One of the robbers told the frightened mother: "Give me money, give me gold or I will kill you."
After ransacking the bedroom of the semi-detached home, off Narborough Road, Rowley Fields, the thieves made off with a large haul of gold jewellery and £3,500 in cash.
Three men from the Erdington area of Birmingham have gone on trial for the crime at Leicester Crown Court.
They deny the robbery.
The defendants are alleged getaway driver Jordan Kirkpatrick (21), of Gipsy Lane, Luke Harvey (24) , of Baldmoor Lake Road, and Michael Tovey (24), of Lakes Road.
A fourth man, Omar Khalifa (30), of Skipworth Street, Highfields, Leicester, has pleaded guilty to the raid and is awaiting sentence, the jury was told.
Esther Harrison, prosecuting, said Khalifa was known to the victims and was thought to have once been a guest in their home.
The woman householder said in statement read out to the court: "Suddenly three males burst into the bedroom, all wearing black clothing and masks across their faces.
"One of them began punching me on the side of my face and another was on the other side of the bed, hitting my husband.
"The third man was searching the room. A gold chain was taken from my neck and three rings from my fingers.
"One of them took my son out of the room and told him to stay in the other bedroom with my two daughters."
The woman was then ordered downstairs to switch off the burglar alarm, which was ringing out.
"I tapped in the code and he then took me upstairs," she said. "One of them hit my husband and I began to cry.
"My husband said 'give them the gold' and I gathered up a bag of jewellery.
"A man had a holdall on his back and he placed it in there. All three began to search the bedroom and, as they found items, they put them in.
"From the way they'd hit me and threatened me, I knew it was for real. When they were satisfied they'd got everything they said, 'stay there and don't call the police'."
Not long after they left, the woman dialled 999.
Her husband, in a statement read out, said: "I was woken up by an alarm sounding. I opened the window to look into the street.
"Three men came into our bedroom with their faces covered and someone shouting, 'where's your gold jewellery and cash?'
"They started searching the room, pulling everything out. All three had metal bars."
In a later statement, the husband, on learning of Khalifa's arrest, said: "My wife and I realised he's the partner of a female we know. I think he came to my house, with his partner, four years ago when my son was born."
Miss Harrison told the jury the robbers had gained entry by breaking a back door lock. Among the haul of about 200 stolen items were 24 necklaces, six bracelets, two watches and 55 bangles, in assorted metals, mainly gold.
She alleged the defendants all made off in a black Skoda belonging to – and being driven by – Kirkpatrick.
Police in an unmarked car became suspicious when the Skoda was seen 48 miles away, at about 3am, in a layby near Hopwood Services, off the M42.
Miss Harrison said: "Two males were outside the car and appeared to be swapping items."
When one of the officers approached, they ran off and the vehicle drove away, with two passengers inside.
It stopped a short distance away and the two passengers ran off, but Kirkpatrick was arrested.
Khalifa was found nearby, hiding up a tree.
An abandoned bag of jewellery was also recovered.
Items from the robbery were found in the Skoda, along with gloves with all three defendants' DNA on, which led to the later arrests of Harvey and Tovey, the court was told.
Mobile phone evidence and vehicle recognition cameras allegedly indicated the defendants' route to from Birmingham to Leicester's Highfields, where Khalifa was allegedly collected, prior to the robbery.
All three defendants gave "no comment" interviews to police.
Tovey, however, gave a written statement to the police, saying there was an explanation for his DNA on any clothing in his friend Kirkpatrick's car.
He said he regularly travelled in the car because they went cross-biking together.
Giving evidence in his defence yesterday, Kirkpatrick told the jury he was persuaded to give three males he did not wish to name a lift to Leicester, thinking he was dropping them off.
However, they were joined by a male in Leicester, he said.
Kirkpatrick claimed he was told to wait while his three Birmingham passengers went off for 10 or 15 minutes. The Leicester man stayed with him.
He said he did not see any masks or metal bars.
"I thought something to do with drugs was happening," he said.
"I was confused. They came running back to my car and jumped in.
"I didn't see they were carrying anything. I was just told to drive."
Kirkpatrick claimed he knew nothing of a robbery plan, but during the journey he looked round and saw "a black bag with gold in it".
The trial continues.
!['Give me gold or I will kill you' - jury at Leicester Crown Court told of chilling threat in Rowley Fields raid]( "'Give me gold or I will kill you' - jury at Leicester Crown Court told of chilling threat in Rowley Fields raid")
