A father has described how an intruder threatened to stab his son while two accomplices searched the house for jewellery.
The men broke into Gurdev Singh Grewal's home in the Uppingham Road area of Leicester moments after the 49-year-old had popped out to the shops.
He believes the intruders thought the house, in Wintersdale Road, was empty, but Mr Grewal's son Gagandeep was inside.
One of the men held the terrified 22-year-old and threatening him with a pair of scissors, while the other two searched the house.
Mr Grewal said: "I think they must have been watching the house and thought it was empty when they saw me drive off to the shops.
"But my son was upstairs and they found him inside.
"One of them held on to him and threatened him with the scissors while the other two searched the house.
"They kept saying to him 'where is the jewellery? and they made a real mess of the house while they were looking around.
"I'd only been gone a few minutes when they broke in, but I came back home from the shops because I'd forgotten my wallet.
"I noticed the front door was damaged where they had forced it open.
"I knew something was wrong so I walked inside and these men came running down the stairs and straight out of the house.
"One of them, I think he was holding a screwdriver, said 'there's a fire upstairs' as he left.
"I found my son and he told me what had happened and I called the police. He told me these men had broken in and came running up the stairs.
"I looked around and the house was a mess. They found a few pieces of jewellery, some new rings and bangles, and took them.
"I have lived here for 37 years and I have never experienced anything like this.
"It has terrified us as a family. We are struggling to sleep at night.
"We just hope these men are caught soon. We could tell they have done this kind of thing before and they will do it again."
Police have appealed for help tracing the three men, who targeted the house shortly before 1pm on Wednesday, March 6.
Detective Constable Yassin Desai said: "I believe there may be someone out there who saw the group either before or after the incident and they could have information which will help inquiries.
"You may think the information is too small or insignificant, but it could really help."
The three intruders were white.
The first is aged 23 to 25, 5ft 8in and of medium build. He was wearing a black baseball cap, a black zip-up jacket and black trousers.
The second is about 17, 5ft 6in and chubby.
He was wearing a light grey hooded top with the hood up, light blue jeans and black trainers.
The third man is about 5ft 8in and of medium build.
Contact Det Con Desai on 101 or Crimestoppers, which is anonymous, on 0800 555 111.
