Gunmen held two young mothers and their babies hostage in a North Finchley home.

Four armed suspects forced their way into the house in Christchurch Avenue at 7pm on Wednesday last week after asking about the whereabouts of a 57-year-old shopowner.

His 23-year-old daughter and 11-month-old grandson were spoken to in Greek and then forced into a bedroom while the house was ransacked. Police do not know what the intruders were looking for but they left with a camcorder and some jewellery.

Two friends of the family who called at the house during the raid were also forced into the bedroom, tied up and threatened with a revolver. The 25-year-old man, 27-year-old woman and her 11-month-old baby got free and alerted police.

Three of the suspects wore balaclavas and the fourth was approximately 25-years-old and dressed in black, possibly with two hooped earrings.

"Although no violence was used, the victims were clearly frightened," said DC Andy Catt of Colindale Police's burglary unit. "As yet we have no motive for the incident but we are appealing for witnesses who may be able to shed some light onto this." If you can help, call the burglary unit on 0181 733 4532.

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