A mother-of-two feared for her life as masked burglars forced their way into the family home and tied her up while her young children played in the living room.

Two burglars, described as white and between 5ft 4ins and 5ft 6ins, restrained the 33-year-old woman using cable ties and held her hostage in the kitchen demanding she tell them where they could find “money and gold”.

A third man who had barged past the woman when she answered the door searched upstairs for valuables before all three left empty-handed.

After hearing his wife had been held against her will by three men, at about 5.15pm on Wednesday of last week, her 39-year-old husband rushed home from work.

He said: “I just wanted to be with my family because I know how frightened my wife must have been.

“You should feel safe in your home – you shouldn’t have to worry about people breaking in.”

The mum-of-two from Harold Hill was with her children, when she answered a knock at the door.

Three men wearing black balaclavas and dark hoodies stormed in, forcing her into the kitchen.

Her husband said: “She said when they came in, she didn’t scream because she didn’t want to scare the children.

“She told them we didn’t have anything and they went away not long after.

“It all happened within five minutes so the whole thing was quick.”

He questioned whether the burglars were encouraged by the cover of darkness as nights draw in.

“If the street lights were on, then maybe someone might have seen those men coming or my wife would have looked out the window and seen them approaching the house so at least she would have had some warning.”

Havering Council has said that all street lights in the borough are fitted with sensors, which switch the lights on 15 minutes after sunset.

If lights are not switching on report the fault via the email address below.

If you have any information, call Romford police on 101. To report faulty streetlights go to havering.gov.uk/reportit