Family including boy, 11, and pensioner 81, held 'hostage' in terrifying cash and gem raid at family house by hammer and crowbar gang

Police are searching for a gang behind a string of violent burglaries after a family was subjected to a terrifying raid.

CCTV footage shows the chilling moment the four burglars broke into a suburban family home with a crowbar before keeping a family, including an 81-year-old pensioner and an 11-year-old boy hostage.

The armed gang smashed their way into the property on Cookham Dene Close in Chislehurst on March 5 at 6 pm.

Initially the thugs rang the doorbell, however when no one answered they walked to the back of the house through a gate where they forced their way into the home.

During the violent robbery the 11-year-old boy was dragged from the lounge to the hallway where the rest of the family were sitting.

The armed attackers squirted the 81-year-old woman in the face with what was believed at the time to be a corrosive substance.

Waving hammers and crowbars, the thieves threatened the family with violence if they did not tell them where they kept their jewellery.

A teenage girl was dragged upstairs during the raid as the thieves demanded to know where the jewellery was.

One member of the family was able to call a family member for help who alerted the police.

Once the thieves became aware that the police had been called they fled the scene with the girl's black school bag stuffed with jewellery.

Police believe they drove off at high speed in a silver coloured Mercedes.

The suspects are described as four stocky white men, with Irish accents, aged in their mid-20s. They all wore matching Converse All Star style trainers, baseball caps and puffa-style jackets.

Detectives believe the same group of men are responsible for a number of burglaries in the Chislehurst area in which the properties have all been broken into through the rear after the doorbell was rung.

Police have also released CCTV footage of a break-in at a residential property on Forest Ridge in Keston on Wednesday, 21 February where a safe containing watches and jewellery was taken.

Detective Constable Ben Briselden, from Bromley Burglary Squad, said: “This was a terrifying burglary where a family were at home enjoying their evening and were threatened, and attacked, by four men who then stole their most valued possessions, which were of great sentimental value.”

Police are advising anyone with information to call Bromley Burglary Squad on 07795 334919 on or 101. To call anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.