ARMED robbers burst into a Blackburn home where a seven-month pregnant woman was asleep upstairs with her three-year-old son.

The balaclava-clad men grabbed a large black-handled butcher’s knife and a screwdriver from the kitchen after breaking in through the back door.

The horrified mum said the robbers ransacked her home and demanded gold and cash. When they realised the woman, of Edith Street in the Audley Range area, did not have what they were looking for, they left empty handed.

The 26-year-old victim said she had been left ‘terrified’ by the ordeal. She said: “The fact that they managed to get in and into my bedroom is scary.

“It is lucky I woke up when I did, there is no telling what might have happened.”

The woman said her husband was at work at the time of the attack, which happened around 1pm on Wednesday.

She had just put her son down for a nap after a morning at nursery and lay down on the bed with him.

The victim said: “I heard the doors opening and I put my head around to see if it was my husband coming home early.

“But the robbers were already upstairs. I saw the knife in one of the men’s hands and then I got back onto the bed with my son.

“My main thought was keeping my son safe. I just wanted them to leave.”

The woman said that once the men realised she did not have any money or jewellery, they left.

She said: “It is terrifying to think someone has come up to your bedroom and invaded your privacy.

“It has really affected my son. He is getting quite scared when there are strange people coming into the house.

“It has taken a while for me to settle him down. “I do not want this to stay with him for the rest of his life.

“I would ask anybody who knows the men to tell the police. “They were both non-Asian and in their late teens or early 20s.

“It is not fair, they would not want this to happen to a member of their family. Nobody should have to go through this.”

One neighbour said she had gone to check on her friend after hearing about the attack.

The 53-year-old said: “My neighbour was very, very calm, but she was in shock when I saw her.

“We are usually very safe around here with a good community spirit.”

Yakub Kherodia, 66, who also lives in Edith Street, said: “I saw police cars across the road.

“It is very worrying this has happened in our street.”

Det Sgt Tim McDermott, of Blackburn CID, said the robbers were described as being of medium build and around 5ft 5ins tall.

They had local accents. He said: “The victim in this crime was absolutely terrified.

It is difficult to imagine how frightening it would be to be confronted by masked intruders in these circumstances.

“It is a cowardly attack on a vulnerable victim. “I believe it is likely that someone will know or suspect who has committed this offence and would urge them to tell the police.

“I would also appeal to anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area of Edith Street around the time of the offence.

“Police patrols in the area have been stepped up with the local neighbourhood team and detectives are working to trace and arrest the offenders”

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting log number 0594 of March 26 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.