A Jewish couple in their 60s fended off three violent intruders by barricading a door before escaping to safety through a window in their home.

In an ordeal described by police as “terrifying”, the 64-year-old husband and his 60-year-old wife, who have asked to remain anonymous, were threatened when three men burst into their detached home in Prestwich Park Road South, north Manchester, on Sunday night.

The intruders repeatedly launched themselves at an internal door the couple had managed to hide behind, and nearly broke through by kicking the door to get at their victims.

After holding the men back for several minutes, the couple then managed to climb through a ground-floor window and raise the alarm at a neighbour’s house.

Meanwhile, the intruders searched the house and stole a designer watch, wallet, cash and cosmetics before making their getaway.

Police have appealed to the public to help catch the three men, describing one as being in his mid-twenties and wearing a grey hooded top.

PC Mark Robertson said: “Clearly the couple are extremely shaken up but thankfully they weren’t physically harmed.”