A GANG forced their way into a home and locked a terrified family in a garage.

Three men posing as police officers forced their way into a house in Doeshill Drive, Wickford on Monday at 3pm.

They claimed to be looking for someone fleeing over the fence, however, they forced their way inside and demanded money.

An unknown amount of cash and jewellery were stolen.

The residents of the home, a 66-year-old woman, her 67-year-old husband and their 32-year-old daughter, were locked in the garage.

Fortunately, the brave victims managed to alert police.

The suspects had also struck the older woman in the head with a screwdriver. She has received medical treatment.

Det Insp Stewart Eastbrook said: “This was a terrifying ordeal for the family and we are doing all we can to bring the offenders to justice.

"We have been carrying out house to house enquiries and reviewing CCTV footage, and are keen to speak to anyone who was in the area at the time and saw three men acting suspiciously.

"We’d also like to speak to anyone with dash cam or CCTV or doorbell footage that could help with our investigation."

The suspects were described as being white, aged in their late 20s and spoke with Eastern European accents.

One wore a grey zip up top, black jogging bottoms with a white stripe and black gloves.

Another wore a dark hooded coat, light grey jogging bottoms and a black cap.

The third wore a grey top, light grey trousers, a black cap.

Witnesses and anyone with information is asked to call Basildon CID on 101 quoting reference 42/48299/20 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or use the anonymous online form at Crimestoppers-uk.org