A DAD had a machete held menacingly over him as his two children hid upstairs from intruders who had broken into their home.

His terrified 16-year-old daughter managed to call the police causing the thieves to flee the family’s home, on Chepstow Grove in Leigh, empty-handed at about 10pm last night, Sunday.

The dad, aged 46, had just returned home with his 10-year-old son having dropped his wife off at work while the couple’s daughter was already at the house.

About 15 minutes later, the dad was startled to see two masked men stood in the hallway, one of whom was brandishing an 18-inch machete with a moulded yellow plastic handle.

The intruders barged into the kitchen, demanding to know where he kept his money and when they failed to find any, the thief held the machete threateningly over his head.

His son, who had heard the commotion, came downstairs and saw his dad being threatened when one of the thieves caught his eye and motioned for the young boy to return upstairs.

He did so, barricading himself into his sister’s room while she called the police on her mobile phone.

One of the intruders tried to get into the room but when she heard the girl on the phone to police, he and his accomplice fled.

The first thief is described as white, about 6ft 2in tall, in his mid-20s with bright blue eyes and wearing dark clothing and a balaclava.

The other man was carrying the machete and was said to be also white, slightly shorter and wearing very similar clothing.

Det Con Claire Hughes said: "It was thanks to poise and bravery shown by this young girl, in the face of genuinely terrifying circumstances, that these intruders escaped empty-handed.

"Faced with the prospect of men brandishing a machete bursting into her room, she used her mobile phone to call the police which was enough to scare these cowards off and caused them to flee.

"The entire family have been subjected to a horrendous, frightening ordeal and thankfully none were physically attacked or injured.

“Nevertheless, anyone who themselves has suffered at the hands of burglars will know just how upsetting it is to have the sanctity of their homes invaded in such a way.

"I would appeal to anyone who has information about this incident to come forward. We need to find the culprits as they are clearly dangerous individuals with access to weapons so if anyone does have information, please speak to us, in confidence if needed."

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.