A woman in her 80s was held down and sat on by a group of burglars who cut the jewellery from her wrist in a shocking home invasion in east London.

Five men gagged the elderly woman with a sock after forcing their way into her home after tricking her into opening the door by pretending to be delivering food during the coronavirus pandemic.

Metropolitan Police have launched an appeal for witnesses following the woman's ordeal in Plaistow, Newham on Thursday evening.

"The victim, a woman in her 80s, was at home when five unknown men knocked on the door and stated they had food for her," police said.

"Upon opening the door, the men pushed their way into the victim's home before forcing a sock in her mouth and instructing her not to speak.

"The males then proceeded to sit on the victim's chest, holding her down while they removed her jewellery by cutting it from her wrist."

The five suspects have been described as white males in their 20s, who were wearing black clothing at the time of the burglary.

One is described as wearing black Nike tracksuit trousers with red piping.

Police were called to the scene of the crime at around 7pm on Thursday evening, and it is estimated that the "violent" burglary had lasted for approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

The incident is now being investigated by the Met's North East Burglary and Robbery Unit.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting reference CAD 006400/21JAN21 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

There have been no arrests and inquiries are still ongoing.

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