Couple, son tied up in home invasion

Photo / File photo

An elderly couple and their son have been left "shaken" after being tied up in an home invasion in Levin this morning.

The family was woken at around 5.45am after noises were heard outside the house, police said.

When one of the family members went to see what the noise was, he found five people in balaclavas trying to break into the property.

A relative of the family, John Matangi, told Fairfax the couple, both aged 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.

Matangi's 40-year-old brother-in-law was hit in the face about five times as the men demanded the keys to the gun cabinet.

Matangi said his 72-year-old father-in-law then biked a short distance to Matangi's house on CB Farm Rd, at 7.15am.

The elderly couple were "fine, just a bit shaken" and their son had a cut to his face and a swollen eye, he said.

"After the offenders left the property one of the victims managed to free themselves and call police," said Detective Sergeant Peter Vine.

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'," said Vine.

"We cannot disclose at this stage the amount of cash that was taken from the property."

The victim's vehicle is a 2009 Black Holden Colorado, registration EZP335.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Levin Police Station (06) 366 0500 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

- nzherald.co.nz