The home on Coleridge Drive, Delahey that was attacked by three African youths. Credit:Paul Jeffers The woman was house-sitting for relatives - Samatha and Paul - at the time of the attack. The couple, who did not want their full names published, told The Age what happened. "So she ran. This window is double-glazed, and they've just smashed right through it," Paul said. "So she nearly made it to the front door, she tripped over our dog. But one got through this part of the window and grabbed her, smacked her in the mouth. Apparently he then opened the front door and there was another one." The woman was held hostage in her front room as the gang rampaged through the house, smashing walls and a television. They stole an Xbox, shoes, Christmas money and the couple's car.

"Her husband had a heart attack Christmas Eve, and he's in intensive care," Paul said. "She begged them not to take her iPad because that's her connection to her husband." After the youths left, the woman staggered out of the house and contacted neighbours, who eventually called Paul and Samantha. The couple spent Friday mopping up a trail of blood and blocking over the smashed glass door. "These cops I spoke to this morning, they are frustrated," Samantha said. "I said 'I feel sorry for you guys, you do all the hard work, and it gets to the next level, and there is no consequences'."

She said the police officers agreed with her. "I just don't know how they can bluntly come into people's homes and grab onto things that aren't even theirs. They don't realise the impact they have on your spirit and the way you feel. I feel unsafe, I feel scared for my kids." The Age understands police have taken CCTV footage from a nearby house, as well as fingerprints from the crime scene. The attack was part of a violent crime spree in Melbourne's west, including home invasions and assaults, that police described as "thuggish and abhorrent". A second home invasion took place about 12.45am on Friday in Coleridge Drive, Delahey.

An 18-year-old victim of the home invasion said he was returning home from work when he found three young men trying to smash their way through his front door as he pulled into the driveway. He said the men broke the glass panel next to the door. The noise alerted the victim's dad who armed himself with a baseball bat. "He just started hitting their hands with the baseball bat so they couldn't undo the lock," the teenager said. "But as soon as I got there, they saw the headlights of the car, and they just started running I think they thought I was the cops or something." The father, who did not want to be identified, said one of the men got into the house through the garage door and stole a mobile phone before fleeing. Two more at the front door were screaming "come out here, we're going to kill you". "My wife was already in bed and she didn't know what was happening," he said. "I thought they were going to kill me, I just kept hitting them with the bat then my son got home. We feel really scared to be here now."



The teenager said his 25-year-old brother and mother were also inside during the attack and the family would be installing security cameras this weekend.

"We're all pretty shaken up and tired," he said. "It's made us feel like we aren't even safe in our own home." The teenager said the three young men fled in a getaway car. The number of young men involved in the home invasions is yet to be determined. Victoria Police Commander for the north-west metro region Russell Barrett said all the victims had described the offenders as of "African appearance". Commander Barrett said it was too early to determine whether one group was responsible for the crime spree, however, it was likely given the crimes were committed within a few kilometres of each other. Other residents in Coleridge Drive say they're living in fear, with cars and houses regularly broken into.

One resident, Samuel Momo, said his family no longer parked their cars on the street after his dad's car was broken into a number of times last year. Mr Momo said he wasn't shocked by the home invasions in his neighbourhood. "There was a gun shooting across the road from our house a few years back," Mr Momo said. "It's almost like the norm here. I don't think it's a recent thing either, there's always been a fair bit of crime. We keep the house locked up at night. Even if it's a hot night, we might open a window to let a bit of air in but we turn off all the lights so nobody can see in." Another resident said he stepped out the front of his house last week to see his mum's car has been "kicked in".

"The windscreen was smashed, there was glass everywhere," he said. "It's a pretty common occurrence. At one stage it was happening about twice a week. Other times cars speeding down the street have ploughed straight into houses." The man who has lived in the neighbourhood for seven years said while he felt there had always been an element of crime in the area, he had noticed an increased presence of teenagers on the streets at night in recent months. "I see mobs of youth walking down the street at night a lot," he said. "Sometimes they're not doing anything too suss from what I can see, but they're always loud and they walk together in big groups, which would be intimidating for anyone walking down the street." Another resident who also did not want to be named said she never opened her windows or doors and kept her car inside her garage at all times. "To be honest I don't feel safe to do that anymore," she said.

"It used to be such a lovely area but you hear things and you see things on the news and the paranoia and fear grows. When the police knocked on my door this morning to tell me about what happened down the street I thought, "here we go again".