He said their ordeal started about 19:30 hrs (7:30 p.m.) when three armed men, clad only in short pants, stormed into their Lot 20 Coldingen home.

Baksh, still visibly shaken Wednesday, said they were just about going to bed when the bandits struck.

Prior to then, he had heard voices outside the house but paid no attention to them because the one-flat building, made mostly of zinc sheets, houses two families, including five children who were inside.

Baksh said the invaders gained entry through the front door and immediately attacked his brother Mohammed, wife Radica and two children, Avinash and Shabana.

One of the trio made a stab at Avinash with a screwdriver but the thick jersey the child was wearing caused the point not to penetrate

Radica and Mohammed were seeking medical attention at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation Wednesday, for wounds suffered at the hands of their attackers, who failed in a bid to forcibly take away eight-year-old Shabana.

They ransacked the house and, not satisfied with what loot they gathered, dealt Radica several blows, including with a gun butt. One of the trio made a stab at Avinash with a screwdriver but the thick jersey the child was wearing caused the point not to penetrate.

However, the 13-year-old boy was thrown into a chest of drawers and commanded to deliver money as the men searched and found some hidden in a coffee bottle.

A tape recorder, a bicycle and other things were also stolen by the marauders, before her parents' pleas prevented them abducting the girl who was screaming all the time.

Baksh said the robbers next turned their attention to the adjoining one- bedroom apartment where the male occupant handed over $5,000 which they took, along with a camera, a 'Casio' wrist watch valued $10,000 and more things.

Baksh said Tuesday night was the seventh time his household had such an experience. He had only moved to that address three days before but is now leaving the village permanently.

The other family has been residing there for more than a year because they have nowhere else to go, despite constant attacks by bandits.

Coldingen and Non Pariel villages have been targeted since the February 23, 2002 Georgetown jailbreak that saw the start of the escalating crime wave.

Some other people in the Coldingen neighbourhood were dismantling their house Wednesday and one of them, Sharon Shirlochan said she is moving to Enterprise after three weeks at the location.

"I came here for a fresh start, to build this small house with the little money I had. But we have to move now that the bandits are around," said the woman, who was living there with her sister and a small child.

Many more houses in the vicinity have been abandoned and locked up or sold as their occupants vacated for the same reason.

Another man, Abdul, who was attacked in daylight on Tuesday, offered that the absence of electricity and security makes Coldingen an ideal target.

Others said they desperately need a Police outpost because where they live is like a backyard to Buxton, from where most of the banditry is launched.

Friday, April 18, 2003