A reward of £5,000 has been offered in the bid to catch three men who threatened a couple with a knife in their own home.

Crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers has put up the money following the aggravated burglary at a house in Queenborough Lane, Rayne, on February 20.

The man, 70, and his wife, 59, were threatened with a knife before being physically attacked by the three men.

They entered the mid-Essex property through an unlocked back door.

The gang spent a total of 40 minutes in the home, between 5.40pm and 6.15pm, searching the house.

They stole a quantity of cash before fleeing the scene.

Neither of the victims suffered serious injuries but both were taken to hospital as a precaution.

Crimestoppers is now offering a reward of up to £5,000 for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

Ann Scott, Eastern regional manager for the charity, said: “This was an absolutely horrific attack.

“We all deserve to feel safe in our own homes and the victims must have been left terrified by this ordeal.

“These men cannot be allowed to evade justice for what they have done.

“There must be people out there who know who they are and I would urge you to contact Crimestoppers anonymously.

“We don’t take personal details and we cannot trace calls or information given online.

“Tell us what you know, not who you are.”

The suspects were all wearing dark heavy work wear trousers.

Two had black jackets and one was wearing a khaki-coloured jacket.

They were not wearing tracksuit bottoms or a Nike jacket as previously described.

All the men were described as quite short and they wore black balaclavas and gloves.

They left the address in a dark-coloured saloon vehicle, believed to be a Volkswagen.

Detective Sergeant Mark Cadd, of Braintree Police, added: “This was an extremely traumatic incident for our victims.

“To have the safety of your own home invaded and then be threatened and assaulted in this manner is extremely distressing and I am determined to find and arrest these people as soon as possible.”

Anyone with information can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through the charity’s anonymous online form on its website.

Only information given directly to the charity is eligible for the reward, not details given to police.