ROSS PARRY SYNDICATION: Police are appealing for information after a baby boy had a knife held to his throat as his mother was beaten by a masked gang demanding money.

Terrified mum Nickola Tye, 32, had a gun and a knife pressed against her eyes as she was repeatedly kicked and punched by four raiders.

She had just walked into her home in Worksop, Nott., with her 21-month-old son Nathan when they struck.

She was bound hand and foot with electrical wiring before the gang ransacked the cottage and fled with watches and jewellery.

Mrs Tye managed to untie herself, grabbed her son and raised the alarm at a neighbour's house before realising the full extent of her injuries.

She was left with a suspected broken nose, massive bruising and her left eye badly swollen.

Detective Constable Lee Keeling of Worksop CID revealed that similar incidents have occurred in the neighbouring county of South Yorkshire.

He said: "It is important that anybody with any information about those involved contacts the police immediately."