Masked raiders attacked a Bradford mum and tried to suffocate her in a terrifying gold jewellery robbery at her Bradford home.

Farnaz Khan, her 18-year-old daughter Farzana, and two of her neighbour’s children aged eight and nine were subjected to a harrowing 20-minute ordeal.

It came only a week after a grandfather aged 81 had a gun pointed at his head in another robbery by a masked gang who stole gold and jewellery, subjecting the family to a terrifying ordeal.

Police last night said they weren’t ruling out the possibility of a connection between the two robberies.

Mrs Khan, 41, last night said she thought she was going to die when four men wearing balaclava masks burst into her home on Galsworthy Avenue, Chellow Heights, at about 6pm on Wednesday after initially knocking on the door.

Armed with a wooden stick, screwdrivers and a spanner, the men pushed Mrs Khan to the floor and demanded money and gold. When she started screaming for help, they tried to suffocate her with a cushion and a prayer mat.

A visibly-shaken Mrs Khan, who was also hit on the head and leg with a spanner, told the Telegraph & Argus: “I was really scared, absolutely terrified.

“I thought I was going to die.”

The robbers also broke the house phone to stop the alarm being raised, she said.

Mrs Khan, who has lived in her house for two years, needed treatment at Bradford Royal Infirmary for a head injury.

Her daughter Farzana said the robbers had knocked on the front and back doors and then put on a feminine voice to convince Mrs Khan they were friendly.

“We were expecting my aunt, so she thought it was family,” said Farzana, who added that the men had local accents and one had blue eyes. “But when she turned the key, the men pulled the handle down and pushed open the door.

“They pushed mum to the floor and she was screaming so they started beating her up. It was horrible.”

The two children, who were being babysat, were forced to sit on the sofa in the living room.

Farzana said she was told to go upstairs by the men, where they “tipped everything up” in their search for gold and cash.

The raiders fled with a pair of earrings and four gold rings, a haul valued at about £1,000.

They also took the house keys and locked the four victims inside the property. Fortunately, one of the children had a mobile phone, which Farzana used to ring police.

A family friend, who would only give her name as Mrs Hussain, said: “Everyone knows that Asian gold has gone sky high in price. The police need to do more. They need to be out on the streets, not driving round in their riot vans and fancy cars.”

Detective Inspector Rick Partis, of Airedale and North Bradford CID said: “We are treating this incident extremely seriously.

“A stolen Vauxhall Astra was found abandoned on Buxton Place soon after this incident, which is believed to have been used by the offenders to make away from the scene.

“It is important that we quickly identify the occupants of this vehicle and those who burst into the property.

“I would therefore call on anyone in the community who has information to let us know as soon as possible.

“Likewise, I would like to hear from anyone who may have been approached by these men, attempting to sell the items they have stolen.

“We are committed to preventing such offences from happening and bringing the individuals responsible to justice.”

Anyone with information can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.