A FULL SCALE Garda investigation is being carried out into the raid on a Co Tipperary house in which a businessman and his family were tied and locked into a shed for 17 hours.
The four masked and armed raiders, who were stated to have Dublin accents, got away in two cars with £10,000 in cash and a "large quantity" of cigarettes.
The men entered the home of Mr Frank Britton and his family near Cloneen, Fethard, Co Tipperary, at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Mr Britton, a businessman who works with cigarette machines, was in bed when the men gained entry.
"I just saw the flashes of two men standing over me with sawn off shot guns," he said.
"I was dragged out of bed. We were handcuffed first and then told to deactivate the alarm. When I did not give the code fast enough I was kicked in the face."
He said he was concerned about his children - aged 13, 10 and seven - as they were all hand cuffed and put into a shed.
"We were concerned about the children as they were going in and out of sleep; they were getting sick and going to the toilet; they were vomiting. We just did not know how long we were going to be there."
At 6:50 p.m. a neighbour heard their shouting and released them. The alarm was then raised.
A Garda spokesman said it was a vicious and callous attack on a helpless family. The men, who were masked, had two sawn off shotguns and Dublin accents.
"Mr Britton received a good few blows. This crowd were vicious and aggressive. Mr Britton was badly bruised and shocked after the incident."
One of the vehicles in which the men made their getaway - a red Hiace van - was located yesterday (mon) at Sun drive Road in Dublin.
Gardai are still looking for the second vechicle, a wine coloured Volvo.