A HAMPSHIRE man has described the terrifying moment four masked raiders smashed their way into his home and punched him to the floor.

Four men armed with stun guns forced their way into Matthew Tate’s house in West End and demanded money before escaping with three expensive watches.

Mr Tate, 43, believes it was only the fact his home was fitted with a panic alarm that saved his life.

CCTV cameras caught the raiders approaching the front door of the Allington Lane property.

Mr Tate had seen the four raiders walking on to his property in Allington Lane and had told them to leave before they “beat seven bells” out of the front door, kicking it and using Taser guns to get inside.

While they were breaking in, Mr Tate had pressed his panic alarm but that did not deter the raiders from entering his home between 2.40pm and 3pm on Friday.

Matthew was still upstairs when they rushed and confronted him. They punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor before demanding money from him.

The raiders ripped a Seiko watch, which had been handed down from his father, from his wrist and “ransacked every room” before taking two other expensive watches, plus a MacBook and some camera equipment before leaving.

They left Matthew with a cut and bruised eye and him “terrified” at what had just happened.

He believes that it was only because he pressed the button of a panic alarm that he is able to tell the story of what happened.

“I’m just amazed that when I saw them approaching the house that I twigged that these guys were serious,” he said.

“I thought ‘how am I going to stop them? They’re coming to my house’.

“The only thing I could do was press the panic alarm. If I hadn’t pressed it the four of them would have stayed there. I just didn’t know how long they would have stayed.”

The offenders made off with a Tag Heuer watch valued at £1,500, a blue and silver Seiko watch, and a red Omega watch valued at £900.

Now detectives are appealing for information after a man was assaulted during a burglary in West End.

Detective Constable Steve Roman said: “When the offenders left the scene they made off through overgrown vegetation at the side of the house into the road leading to Itchen Valley Country Park. Were you in the area? Did you see the offenders running from the area?

“All four offenders were wearing face coverings, hoods and coats and were clothed in a way that would look immediately out of place on such a warm afternoon.” 

“I’d also like to speak to anyone who may have seen a parked car on the approach to the country park from Allington Lane, anyone who was in the area who has a working dash cam or anyone who saw people in the area dressed inappropriately for a summers day.”

Officers have descriptions of two of the offenders.

The first man is in his late 20s to early 30s, 6ft and of slim build. He was wearing a black or dark blue hooded top and similar coloured trousers, a black rucksack and builder type gloves which were grey, blue or black in colour. 

He also had a hat on underneath the hoodie which had a white emblem at the front. 

The second man is white, aged in his early to mid 20s, shorter than man one but of a larger build and wearing a light grey tracksuit.

Anyone with any information should contact Detective Constable Roman at Southampton police station by calling 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, where information can be left anonymously.