Five men broke into an elderly woman's house, stuffed a sock in her mouth, sat on her chest and cut jewellery from her wrist in Plaistow on Thursday.

The victim of the attack, a woman in her 80s, was at home in Cordwainers Walk when the gang knocked on her door, saying they had food for her at around 7pm.

The gang, described as white men in their 20s wearing black clothes, forced their way into the woman's home as she opened the door and stuffed a sock into her mouth.

The cruel burglars sat on the victim's chest as they held her down, cutting the jewellery from her wrist.

The violent attack is understood to have lasted between 20 and 30 minutes and one of the men was wearing a distinctive black Nike tracksuit with red piping.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Detectives from the Met’s North East Burglary and Robbery Unit are appealing for any witnesses or information in relation to the suspects to come forward and inform police.

"If you are local to the area and noticed anything suspicious at this time then please get in contact."

There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101 quoting reference CAD 006400/21JAN21 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.