A GANG bound and gagged a terrified mum in her own home before escaping with thousands of pounds in jewellery and cash.

The victim, in her 30s, was threatened, forced to the floor and dragged upstairs and held there while the gang searched the house.

Moments earlier, one of the men had turned up at the home in Goodshaw Avenue, Pleckgate, Blackburn, posing as a charity collector.

But as she turned her back, the woman was bundled into the house just before 11am yesterday. (FRIDAY).

Two other men, who had been lurking nearby, then approached and helped bind her hands and feet with cable ties. She was gagged with tape and taken upstairs.

Police said they took thousands of pounds of cash and gold jewellery.

The woman, who was home alone with her husband at work and three children at school, was left bound and gagged .

But she managed free herself enough to hop downstairs, out of the door and alert neighbours by screaming for help.

Speaking outside the house yesterday ((FRI)), her husband, who didn’t want to be named said: “I’m distraught. My wife is unharmed, but very distressed. These men will be caught, 100 per cent.

“They’ve taken thousands of pounds of gold jewellery and cash.”

Residents rushed to the woman’s aid and some gave chase, but couldn’t find the three men.

Driving instructor Abdul Rashid Yusuf was mowing his front lawn when he heard the woman’s screams.

He said: “When I looked up, I saw the lady with a gag on her mouth and her legs still tied up.

“She was screaming ‘I’ve been burgled’.

“I rushed to help and then I remembered the three men walking past two minutes earlier.

“I drove around the block but they must have had a getaway car.”

Next door neighbour, taxi driver Gulfraz Hussain, 44, said: “This is baffling. They are such a lovely family and this is a nice, quiet area. I cannot think of any reason why they would be targeted.”

Resident Salma Alibhai, 42, said: “She was in the street with her legs still tied up screaming ‘Somebody help me’. I feel so sorry for her. She’s a lovely lady with a good family and no enemies. She will be traumatised.

“It’s a good neighbourhood and it’s so sad these things happen.”

Yesterday a BMW on the driveway next to children’s bikes was being dusted for fingerprints and crime scene investigators were forensically examining the detached house.

Last night the victim was still being interviewed by police.

Detective Inspector Mark Winstanley said he was particularly keen to know how the men had got to the scene.

He said: “They made no attempt to disguise themselves on a bright morning in a residential area with plenty of people about. They came and left on foot so it may be that they had a car parked nearby.

“If anybody else saw these men or had them knocking on their door, they should contact police.”

The gang was spotted walking briskly up Goodshaw Avenue towards Pleck Farm Avenue with their heads down.

It is not yet known if any weapon was used in the raid.

The first man was described as Asian, in his 40s, and wearing traditional dress. He also wore a white cap, dark jacket and glasses.

The second man was also described as Asian and in his 40s but he was wearing a dark hooded top with writing across the front and dark tracksuit bottoms with a stripe across the knee.

The third man, again described as Asian and in his 40s, was taller than the other two men, balding, and wearing a long dark coloured jacket.

Police described the incident as ‘terrifying, but very rare’ and said the victim was ‘extremely shaken’ but uninjured.

Contact police on 0845 1 25 35 45 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.