A FAMILY were tied up in their home by raiders who threatened them with a shotgun before stealing cash and jewellery.

The middle-aged couple and their daughter were left very distressed in the second armed raid on people in their homes in North Yorkshire in the past two months.

Police are not yet linking Thursday's robbery at a house near Skipton to one at a farm near York, on June 2, which left a man in hospital.

Andrew Handley was shot in the thigh by three masked men during that bungled raid, in Elvington. They had demanded cash and jewellery.

In the latest raid four men, wearing distinctive black jackets with a gold band around the bottom, broke into the house near the Skibeden roundabout, on the A59 Skipton bypass, at about 11pm on Thursday.

They threatened the family with a knife and a shotgun, forcing them to reveal the locations and combinations of safes and then tied them with cable and locked them in the cellar.

Detective Inspector Mick Moore described the incident as a "cowardly, violent and horrific assault".

"This sudden eruption of violence and threats into a family home subjected these innocent people to appalling fear and distress," he said.

The couple are offering a £15,000 reward for information leading to the intruder's conviction. Anyone with information is asked to call police on (01423) 539753 or CrimeStoppers on (0800) 555111.