A Jewish couple and five of their children were terrorised by a gang of three men armed with a hammer and a screwdriver who broke into their north-west London home last October, a court has heard.

But one of the family managed to hide and raised the alarm. Police arrived within five minutes and captured one gang member.

Mark Laidlaw, 19, of Friern Barnet Road, New Southgate, received a four-year sentence at Wood Green Crown Court after pleading guilty to aggravated burglary. Another 117 offences were taken into consideration and the total value of the burglaries was estimated to be over £100,000.

The men - all in hooded tops and with scarves over their faces - broke into the home in Childs Hill on October 28. The mother of the family noticed an open door and went to investigate.

The woman found the three men in the hallway. One held a hammer and another a screwdriver. One of them shouted: "Give me your jewellery or I'll smash you."