A COMPANY director from Twickenham has told of his terrifying ordeal after he, his wife and their baby son were held hostage by an armed gang when they returned home from a dinner party last week.

The 30-year-old, who does not want to be named, said he had 'no reason' to believe he was going to survive the raid at his St George's Road home, in which he was threatened with a knife and an axe.

He has offered a £20,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the men who made off with thousands of pounds worth of jewellery and his £50,000 car last Wednesday (13th).

He told reporters: "I want these people off the streets. I don't want anyone to go through what we have gone through. We have had to move out of our home - somewhere where you are supposed to feel safe."

The raid comes less than a month after a Montpelier Row resident was attacked in his own home by gun-wielding thieves who followed him back from central London.

Residents fear this could be the start of an alarming trend in which the borough's most prosperous homes and familes are targeted.

Detective Inspector Clarke Jarrett who is leading the investigation into last week's burglary said: "This was a frightening attack for the family who were left tied up and unable to care for the baby.

"This type of burglary is rare, especially in this part of London.''

The victim, his 27-year-old wife and their baby son were returning from having dinner with friends at about 11pm.

When they opened the door to their home, they saw a gang of six/eight white men wearing balaclavas standing in the front hall.

The raiders carried an axe, a knife and a baseball bat.

The men surged forward, one of them charging at the young mother with the axe held above his head. The terrified woman dropped the car seat holding her son. The men threatened to kill the husband if he did not tell them where valuable items were hidden in the house.The victim told reporters: "I got pinned to the floor by four suspects who then bundled us upstairs towards the study. The men kept saying, Where's the cash. We'll kill you, cut you, stab you'.

"They pushed me to the floor and I tried to placate them and told them I had no cash at the address and offered them what we had - watches and jewellery.''

He said that his wife had been pleading with the men not to hurt their baby and one of the gang had seemed shocked that a baby was involved - he kept trying to reassure the mother that they wouldn't harm him.

One of the men put a pillowcase over the husband's head.

The wife pleaded with them to stop, because of the baby.

The husband recalled: "I had no reason to believe I was going to survive. I was concerned for my baby and wife.

"Obviously I couldn't see anything. All I could hear was noise but I couldn't hear my son, which worried me even more.

"I have two dogs, a bull terrier and a Manchester terrier but I couldn't find them."

One of the dogs was later found locked in the conservatory and the other found upstairs, both appear to have been drugged.

The men eventually made off with valuable watches plus jewellery of an estimated value of £120,000 and two flat screen televisions.

The gang then bundled the couple to the floor tied them up with electrical cables before leading them to an upstairs room of the house with their son still in a car seat.

The intruders stole the family black four wheel drive BMW X5 registration LL51WXF valued at £50,000 which a number of them made off in. It has not been found by police yet

Once they had left, the mother managed to free herself from her bindings and called police.

The watches taken, which were the main items of looted jewellery, were four Frank Muller watches all gold and encrusted with diamonds. They are valued at £12-£14,000 each.

Two Aude Mans Piguet watches were also taken, one a Royal Oak valued at £8,000 the other a Chronometer valued at £7,000.

A white gold Breguet Transatlantic watch valued at £16,000, a Petek Phillippe valued at £14,000 and a Pakmgini platinum watch with a value of £18,000 were taken.

The watches are all fairly distinctive and have serial numbers.

Although it is likely that the gang knew of the couple's wealth, police cannot confirm whether or not they had prior knowledge of the collection of watches.

The actual incident had lasted 15 minutes but it is not known how long the men had been in the house before the couple's return.

Police believe the gang are well known and encourage anyone with links to them to come forward.

Anyone who has any information about the car, a black BMW X5, expensive watches or two flat screen televisions should contact Twickenham CID on 020 8247 7031 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.