Moment masked gang are caught on camera as they break into family home

A mother has told of her horror after a family's Ring doorbell camera captured the moments before a masked gang broke into their home in the early hours.

Jo O'Farrell feared for her three sleeping children after realising the burglars had infiltrated their Merseyside home before making off with keys to both their house and their Mercedes car which was then stolen.

Police are appealing for information to help track down the gang, who were later spotted racing down the M6 motorway beside another stolen car, an Audi.

Mrs O'Farrell and her husband were alerted to what had happened when Merseyside Police officers called on September 26 at 3.30am, asking where they were - prompted by the sighting of the Mercedes-AMG A-Class alongside the Audi. 

The couple looked outside to realise that their car had vanished - then checked for footage from their Ring doorbell camera, which revealed three masked men prowling on the doorway of their Southport home.

Mrs O'Farrell said: 'I thought I was going to have a heart attack, because we had been in the house with our children the whole time. We were screaming for the children, wondering where they were.'

The camera footage showed the balaclava-clad men had arrived at the house shortly after 1am that day.

At least one of them appeared to stay outside while another broke in through a back door before rummaging through drawers in the kitchen - taking the family's house and car keys, as well as cash and credit cards.

Mrs O'Farrell told the Liverpool Echo: 'They came down the side of our drive towards the side gate which was locked, and they were obviously communicating there but not talking.

'They were all wearing the same outfits, all balaclavas up. They were dressed identically. They all had the same logo on their pants, the same logo on their tops. They all seemed to be older men, not young kids.'

She believes they 'made off within a fraction of 10 minutes', while the family remained oblivious upstairs.

She said: 'They were moments away from us. We weren't disturbed because they were so quiet.

'We've had to get our security measures tightened. We feel very vulnerable. You don't want to leave the house in case you're hit again. We're petrified.

'These men could have been armed. I don't think they would've stopped until they found that key. They could have come upstairs.'

Police who arrived at the scene told her the same men were thought to have stolen another set of car keys and an Audi from a house in Ainsdale, four miles away, that same night.

While that car was later discovered abandoned in nearby Bootle, the red Mercedes-AMG A-Class - a car model with starting prices of between £32,700 and £51,600 - was still missing.

There had been a hope that the Merc could be recovered after an alert was triggered on Mrs O'Farrell's tracking app, but she said: 'It was just the tracker they'd ripped out and thrown away.'

She added: 'We think we were targeted because the car is a high end car, and we think they've been eyeing it for some time.

'They knew exactly how to get in, that's the scary thing about it. I don't feel safe any more. I don't feel safe in this house. I don't feel safe getting a car or hiring one in case they come back. I feel shaken up.'

She told how her husband, a GP, was now forced to get lifts from surgery colleagues to get to work and was prevented from carrying out home visits.

Mrs O'Farrell, who has previously spoken about contracting sepsis which prompted her to take up a diet and lose 11st, added: 'The whole situation is just awful. I wouldn't like this to happen to another family.'

A Merseyside Police spokesman said they were appealing to the public for information about the September 26 burglary. No arrests have been made.

The force added: 'Police attended and an investigation is ongoing including obtaining CCTV and doorbell footage.'

Officers urged anyone with CCTV, smart doorbell or dashcam footage which could help to submit it at: https://unitedkingdom1cpp-portal.digital-policing.co.uk/merseyside/appeal/residential-burglary.

Anyone with information on this incident is also asked to contact @MerPolCC on Twitter, Merseyside Police Contact Centre on Facebook, ring 101 with reference 24000825074 or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.