TWO members of a gang who brutally attacked and robbed a watchmaker in his own home have been jailed for 17 years.

The victim left with cuts to his forehead and bruising over his body after the gang forced their way into his Southampton home, beat him with a crowbar, and took his £9,000 Rolex.

Now Joseph Flaherty and Nathan Arcon are behind bars for their part in the horrifying burglary in January this year.

Police are still hunting an alleged third gang member, Jack Murray, 27, who is being connected with a series of violent burglaries in the south.

Southampton Crown Court heard how the watchmaker was at his home in Bitterne, when three men wearing dark clothing and balaclavas stormed their way through the backdoor.

One of the men was brandishing a crowbar and demanded the victim’s valuable, blue-dialled wrist watch.

He resisted and was subjected to a “nasty and brutal attack”, the court heard.

He suffered bleeding when struck on the head and body with the crowbar, and had a kitchen knife held to his throat.

One of the men said he would “slit his throat from ear to ear” if the victim resisted, the court heard.

The men eventually took the watch and ran out of the property, where they fled the scene in a getaway car.

The prosecution argued Flaherty, 25, of Primrose Road, Bassett, was one of the attackers, while Arcon, 25, of Chiltern Green, Millbrook, was the getaway driver.

Jodie Mittell, prosecuting, told the court a silver Mercedes driven by Arcon was spotted by a police officer in Primrose Road later that evening and saw Flaherty moving away from the car to his home address.

The car drove off and the officer followed it and ordered it to stop in nearby Violet Road.

Items were seized in the car including a bomber jacket with Flaherty’s DNA on it, clothing with Murray’s DNA, and trainers with the DNA of Samuel Boylan, another defendant accused of being involved in the incident.

The three men pleaded not guilty to aggravated burglary but jurors found Flaherty and Arcon guilty.

Mr Boylan, of no fixed address, was found not guilty and cleared of any involvement.

David Reid, defending Flaherty, said his client, who has 14 previous convictions for 33 offences, wants to give a better example to his two children and has completed three stages of a business studies course while in prison.

Arcon’s defence barrister Andrew Houston told the court he is seen as “helpful, polite, and caring, and no one has a bad word to say about him”.

Sentencing Flaherty to ten years and Arcon to seven years behind bars, Judge Peter Ralls QC said: “It’s not surprising he (the watchmaker) was terrified.

“He said in his victim impact statement that he thought he was potentially facing death as a result of having a knife of his throat.”

Judge Ralls also handed Arcon, who previously pleaded guilty to supplying cannabis, a further four-month prison sentence, to run concurrently with his sentence for aggravated burglary.