A brave dad leapt on top of a trio of masked raiders who forced their way into the family home armed with a knife and sledgehammer in a shocking break-in before fight them off with a baseball bat.
The homeowner was forced to take action when security footage captured the terrifying moment the callous thugs shattered a rear window with a brick before forcing their way inside.
It is understood they then grabbed a blade from the kitchen and made their way upstairs where children were sleeping before having their plans foiled by the hero dad.
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They could later be seen scampering out the back garden through a wooden gate as the petrified family remained inside.
It came just hours after the man, who asked to remain anonymous, had been altered to a security concern near the house while he sat in hospital with his son who is currently undergoing treatment for leukaemia.
Police say they are now probing the incident, but the family’s young daughter has been left frightened.
The man told the Manchester Evening News: "We heard a bang where they’d thrown a big brick and it’d smashed the glass so they got in. They had a sledgehammer and one took a knife from our kitchen drawers.
“I was upstairs in the bathroom and I rushed out and saw the guys trying to come upstairs so I just jumped on top of him and kicked him in the shoulder.
"He pulled me down from my legs and I somehow managed to jump up and my wife handed me a baseball bat as our neighbours came and knocked at the door.
"They [the robbers] got scared I guess and left. It was very terrifying but we’re ok, I just have a few bruises so it could have been worse.”
Although the family, from Salford, were able to escape without any major injuries, the family’s young daughter has been terrified ever since.
The dad said that earlier that evening, he had an an alert from his security system display on his phone just after 9pm, while he was sat in hospital with his critically-ill son, who is currently undergoing treatment for leukaemia.
The security system showed two men wandering around the back garden of his family home.
He said he quickly called his wife, who was at home with their two children and his mother-in-law, who then headed downstairs and spooked the men into leaving.
He returned home and just a couple of hours later, shortly before 11pm, the three men entered the back garden and broke in.
The couple had decided to buy a baseball bat in case they needed to defend themselves after one of their neighbours had their house broken into and their car stolen a few months ago.
The man added: “Earlier the previous night, around 9pm, these two guys came through the back alley and into the back garden and I called her and she shouted at them and they left.
“I wasn’t getting good feelings at the hospital, so I decided to leave my son with the nurses in critical care and came home. Our neighbours were broken into a few months ago, so we bought a baseball bat in case something happened.
“The whole street is just a bit scared, in the last 18 months about four houses have had something similar. We had the worst because we had to fight them but this is something I’ve never had in my life.”
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He said officers from Greater Manchester Police had been to the house with a sniffer dog, but were unable to locate any of the men who were involved from their scent.
A spokesperson for the force said: “Officers were called to a report of an aggravated burglary at an address on Granville Street in Eccles just before 11pm yesterday, March 27. Three males broke into an address armed with weapons and grabbed a male in the property.
“Thankfully, no one was injured. They made off from the scene empty-handed. An investigation is on-going and detectives are following up a number of lines of enquiry.
“Anyone with information or anyone who may have seen anything is asked to report it online at www.gmp.police.uk. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
