A family is offering a £20,000 reward to find a group of thugs who raided their home and held them at knife-point.

A gang of balaclava-clad men with Irish accents raided the house and tormented a young family, including 15-month-old twins.

They broke into the kitchen of the property in Green Street Green Road, Dartford, at around 7.45pm last Thursday, with guns, knives and iron bars.

During the attack, the group of eight to 10 men assaulted the victims by slapping them and spraying them with bleach.

Junior Cheema’s wife and twin daughters were inside, along with his nine-year-old nephew, 18-year-old cousin and his aunty.

The 33-year-old said: “The men jumped over the gates and came into the kitchen by smashing the locks.

“They took everyone’s phones and some went upstairs and ransacked the place while others stayed downstairs. There was two outside waiting in a car.

"My wife can’t go upstairs on her own now, she doesn’t feel safe." Junior Cheema

“They stole the stuff from upstairs, as well as gold, watches, some coats and bags, as well as taking the CCTV. My wife can’t go upstairs on her own now, she doesn’t feel safe. She is okay with all of us around her, but not on her own - it’s really affected them. It’s hard to be here and live like this. My nephew hasn’t slept at night since and is having panic attacks when the door shuts.”

Mr Cheema, who owns several shops in the area, thinks the “disgusting” robbery is becoming too common.

He added: “So many homes have been getting done like this, and they’re all the same, with people looking to steal anything they can.

“I’m just happy nothing happened to my children and wife.

“I was born in Gravesend and lived in Dartford for my whole life and never had problems like this before. We’ve never had to lock our doors before.”

Junior added: “The reward is for anyone who can provide information that leads to the arrest and conviction of these criminals.

“If they ring police, they will log their details and pass them onto us.”

“I’m just happy nothing happened to my children and wife..." Junior Cheema

Detective Sergeant Mark Froome, senior investigating officer, said: “Incidents of this nature are exceptionally rare and we are conducting numerous inquiries to establish who the offenders are.

“The men involved left the victims fearing they would be seriously assaulted and I’m confident there are people out there who will know who these offenders are. I am appealing for anyone with information, no matter how small, to contact us.”

Another Dartford family was targeted last week by burglars in Priory Road. They were asleep when someone broke into their home as they slept and stole a number of items, before heading outside to take their two Mercedes cars.

Contact the police with information on 01474 366149, quoting 31-1508, or alternatively Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.