A heavily-pregnant woman was so terrified by her ordeal at the hands of masked burglars that she bought a ferocious-looking guard dog.

Intruders wearing balaclava masks pinned down Charlotte Wilkinson, tied up her partner Paul North and demanded money during a night-time raid at their home in Duchy Crescent, Heaton, Bradford.

Miss Wilkinson, who is eight months’ pregnant, has taken immediate steps to tighten security at her three-bedroom home by acquiring a sizeable rottweiler dog – named Bruno after Frank Bruno, the former heavyweight boxing champion.

Miss Wilkinson and Mr North were the first victims in a spate of four burglaries in the Heaton area in little more than a week, as reported earlier this week in the Telegraph & Argus.

Detectives are linking the burglaries, which are thought to involve a gang of three Asian men who wear balaclavas, tie up victims, ransack homes and demand cash or gold.

Miss Wilkinson, 37, said: “I had gone to bed at 10pm. My partner had fallen asleep on the sofa and forgot to lock the conservatory door.

“I woke up to hear someone shouting. I came down and walked into the first reception room to find two masked men behind the door.

“They grabbed me and pinned me down to the sofa. One had me by the mouth so I couldn’t scream.

“The other man held me down by the stomach which when you’re pregnant is not good. When I managed to pull his hand from my mouth I told him ‘I’m pregnant’.

“They tied up my partner and hurt his back because he was pinned on the sofa with a knee in his back. They told us to keep our heads down and not to look up.

“All they were bothered about was money – they kept shouting and asking where the money was. I told them we didn’t have any money in the house – just £5.

“They said ‘what do you do for a living?’ My partner works for Autoglass and we only rent the house. Then they started asking if our landlord was rich. They left with nothing.”

Miss Wilkinson said she was “so thankful” the four children, aged three to 15, were not caught up in the incident and remained asleep upstairs.

She said: “I’m 32 weeks’ pregnant. My blood pressure was sky high and my heart-rate shot through the roof, so they took me to hospital for checks. Fortunately the baby is absolutely fine – she’s a tough cookie.

“It has left us scared to the point where we have gone out and bought a big rottweiler. We heard that this gang were not even bothered about burglar alarms, so we got the dog. He’s big, he’s called Bruno and he barks.

“They seem to be getting bolder. Last time, they used knives.

“They are targeting all sections of the community, not just Asian families. They strike at the big houses where they think people have got money.”

Police said inquiries were ongoing and urged anyone with information to call Airedale and North Bradford CID on 0845 6060606 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.