Neighbour of boy, 15, stabbed three times by masked men who also knifed his father in unprovoked midnight house raid recalls being woken up by horror screams

A neighbour has told of waking up to horrific screams as a father and son were stabbed in a terrifying midnight raid.

Armed police rushed to the property in Thurnby, Leicestershire, after reports of the 'completely unprovoked' break-in during the early hours of Thursday morning.

Two masked men entered the home at around 12.30am and seriously wounded the father and son, while his mother, aged in her 40s, suffered minor injuries to her hand and shoulder.

She has since been discharged from hospital, while the boy and father, in his 50s, remain in hospital in a critical condition following the 'violent attack'.

Three other children who were in the house were not injured.

The neighbour told Sky News: 'It was like a horror scene, we heard shouting, screaming, banging noises – it woke us up.'

'We saw two men come out of the house running. It was so dark – they disappeared.

'We rang our neighbour and she said her husband was dying and her son was very badly hurt, then we rang 999. Lots came – police, ambulances, armed police as well, maybe 16-17 vehicles, it was awful.' 

A friend of the critically injured teenager revealed the 'innocent' 15-year-old had been 'stabbed three times' by 'gang members who robbed their home'.  

Leicestershire Police said armed officers were deployed to the scene, but the masked men had already fled the area before they arrived.

Forensic investigators were pictured outside the home on Friday, as the road was cordoned off and guarded by a police officer. 

Detective Inspector Lorna Granville, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said the attack was 'completely unprovoked' and officers are trying to understand the motive.   

She said: 'This was a violent attack against a family in their own home which appears to have been completely unprovoked.

'Our investigation to understand what happened and why – and identify those behind such a horrific criminal act – is going to continue over the weekend.

'I'm making a direct appeal to people in Thurnby and the surrounding communities to come forward with any information if they haven't already done so.

'We owe it to the victims to locate the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

'I'd like to speak to anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious, unusual or untoward in the area of Station Road and Somerby Road between 11pm on Wednesday and the early hours of yesterday morning.

'This includes anyone who was driving in the area and captured anything on a dashcam, or anyone with CCTV or doorbell footage.

'Anything you're able to provide, no matter how insignificant you think it might be, could help us.'

Several residents living near the scene said they were too scared to speak to the media about what had happened, but they described feeling unsafe.

Another eyewitness, who did not wish to be named, said he woke up in the middle of the night to see police and ambulance lights flashing.

He said: 'We're really frightened and very concerned, and we're concerned for the people and all the children that were witnessing it.

'They're very nice people who keep themselves to themselves and [are] good neighbours.'