Phone lines to a Levin property were cut before a group of balaclava-clad men tied up and robbed a family of guns, cash and a vehicle early today.
An elderly couple and their son were tied up in the home invasion in Levin this morning.
The family was woken by noise outside about 5.45am, police said.
When they went to investigate they found five people in balaclavas trying to break in.
A relative of the family, John Matangi, told Fairfax the couple, both 72, and their 40-year-old son were tied up while the men searched the house.
The phone lines were cut and the house flooded as all the taps were turned on and the men demanded cash, he said.
The younger man was hit in the face about five times as the men demanded the keys to the gun cabinet.
The elderly man managed to free himself and biked a short distance for help afterwards.
The elderly couple were "fine, just a bit shaken" and their son had a cut to his face and a swollen eye, Mr Matangi said.
Police said the offenders took cash, two rifles, a shotgun, ammunition, personal effects, and one of the victim's vehicles.
"We believe the offenders arrived at the property in a vehicle and left in this vehicle and the victims'," police said.
- Herald Online
