A 14-year-old girl and her mother were held captive by four masked raiders who broke into their home, police have revealed.
They were detained in the kitchen of their house in Low Mill Lane, Addingham, by the intruders who stole jewellery before fleeing when they were disturbed by a passer-by. The “very distressing” incident took place at about 5.40pm on Monday, when the men broke in through a utility room and confronted the teenager, before knocking her to the ground.
She was held in the room by one of the intruders while his three accomplices went into the kitchen and took hold of the girl’s 50-year-old mother.
Both victims were then held together in the kitchen while the intruders, who were wearing dark, all-in-one waterproof or boiler-style suits with masks and gloves, searched the property.
But a dog walker, who had come to investigate after seeing the owners’ dogs running loose outside, disturbed the raiders.
The men fled towards Low Mill Lane with a haul of jewellery.
Neither of the victims was harmed, but they were left very distressed by their ordeal.
Craven ward councillor Michael Kelly (Con) said it was the sort of crime almost unheard of in Addingham.
He said: “With every police report we hear Addingham is one of the safest places to live in the county, if not the country. This is the last thing we want coming into our community.”
Detective Inspector John Mountain, of Airedale and North Bradford CID, appealed to members of the local community to come forward with any information about the raid.
“This was clearly a very distressing incident for the two family members involved and I’m appealing to the community in Addingham, specifically in the Ilkley Road and Low Mill Lane areas, to contact us if they saw anything out of the ordinary around those locations,” he said.
“That includes any vehicles or persons whom they may not have recognised or who stood out for any other reason.
“We have a team of staff working on the enquiry and anyone who has information should contact Airedale and North Bradford CID on 0845 60 60 606 or CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111.”
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