Convicted members of a machete gang which violently targeted a Jewish family and business in a string of robberies in Manchester have been re-arrested after being released early from prison.

Greater Manchester Police admitted to losing track of two gang members, both men and aged 20 and 21, on Tuesday after then pair breached their release terms. They were arrested only hours later for attempted burglary in Wigan after being spotting acting suspiciously outside a house. They had served only six months of their two year jail sentences before being released.

In August 2007, members of the gang beat the door down of a Jewish family home in Whitefield and threatened the couple inside with a machete and metal bar before stealing the family’s cars. In September 2007 the foreign currency exchange Goldman & Sterling Ltd in Prestwich was targeted by three of the gang armed with a machete and a hammer. £7,500 in cash was stolen.

GMP’s PC Lyndsey Muca, says the men completely disregarded the terms of their release.

"Anyone who flouts these demonstrates a complete disregard for the law and for the victims of those offences for which they have previously been sentenced.”