AN INDIAN national has described the terrifying moment he woke to intruders holding a knife to his throat.

Prabhath Ponnamaneni was asleep on the couch inside a home at Albion, west of Melbourne, around 11.30pm on Wednesday when three men broke in and went straight for the kitchen.

Once there, they grabbed the occupant’s own knives before waking him. Police say the door was unlocked and the knives were held to the victim’s throat.

The men demanded electronic equipment and car keys. Mr Ponnamaneni handed over a mobile phone and was told to unlock it and reset it. The burglars stole wallets, car keys belonging to five other occupants and the victim’s car, a Honda CRV.

They didn’t get far.

After fleeing the two-storey apartment in the stolen vehicle, they crashed it through a retaining wall on the property and again not far away in Churchill Ave, before attempting a getaway on foot.

Police conducted a search of the area and arrested a 21-year-old man. They say the car was located at Churchill Ave containing goods allegedly stolen from Mr Ponnamaneni’s home. The two other men are still on the loose.

A shaken Mr Ponnamaneni spoke with reporters outside the home he shares with five others on Thursday morning.

He showed cameras the spot on his neck where the knife was held and told 7News he had been away from his wife and children while he saved enough money to secure a visa for them to travel to Australia. He said he will “rethink whether he wants them to move here”.

“They held a knife to my throat,” he told Fairfax.

“All my family flashed through my mind. They were actually not happy when I was moving to Australia to work I haven’t called them yet, otherwise they would feel really bad.”

He said the six friends living together would try to find a new place to live.

“It’s left me shaken up. I’ve heard about these stories but never thought it would be me.”

A man has had a knife held to his throat during a violent home invasion in Melbourne's West. #7News pic.twitter.com/m6Bw60XY1z — 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) February 14, 2018

Home invasions are increasingly common in Melbourne’s outer suburbs. Just last month a woman was slapped across the face and forced to sit and watch more than 10 men go through her things.

The 59-year-old said the intruders were of African appearance. The break-in and assault were described as “abhorrent” and “thuggish” by police.

A senior cop said in January that home invasions had become the “crime of choice” for young offenders in Melbourne.

Andrew Crisp, Victoria’s Deputy Police Commissioner, said police were seeing the same crimes committed over and over again.

“A lot of the time it’s to steal keys, so they can steal cars to commit further crimes. It’s become the crime of choice for this particular group,” he told 7.30.

“What we have seen is that you might see half a dozen involved in an aggravated burglary, steal a car and commit some further offences that night.

“The next night, you might have two of those offenders, but there could be three or four new ones that have come from other parts of Melbourne — networking through social media.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au