Two brothers were stabbed in front of their terrified family as they fought off armed burglars who broke into their Birmingham home.

The pair, named locally as Ali and Mohammed Ahmed, were knifed in the violent confrontation with the masked raiders – at least one of whom was said to have been toting an imitation gun.

Thursday’s break-in, at their home in Ray Hall Lane, Great Barr, was the second time the family had been targeted in a year.

A source said the gang sneaked into the house through an unlocked door and confronted a man in the lounge as he was praying.

“One of the men put a knife to his throat,” he said.

“The two lads came running down the stairs to see what was going on and were stabbed.”

Detectives were last night trying to determine a motive for the latest attack on the family.

One theory was that they could have been targeted by gangs responsible for a spate of gold thefts in the wider area in recent weeks.

A neighbour said Asian gold was taken during the previous burglary at the property, last April.

“I feel really sorry for them. They are a lovely family,” said the resident, who asked not to be named.

“I think they are being singled out because they are successful. They were burgled last year and a load of gold was taken.”

One of the injured men was taken to Sandwell Hospital to be treated for a serious stab wound. The other was said to have suffered a superficial stab wound to his back.

A relative of the brothers, who answered the door at the family home, said: “We don’t want to talk about it at the moment, we are all really shaken up.”

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: “Police are investigating an aggravated burglary at a house in Great Barr.

“At around 8.25pm on Thursday a group of around three or four men, wearing masks, forced their way into the address on Ray Hall Lane and threatened the occupants with a knife and a BB gun.

“During a struggle two men from the premises were injured.”

Police urged witnesses to come forward.

Anyone with information should call Force CID in Birmingham on the new non-emergency number, 101.

Ray Hall Lane is just three miles from the Handsworth Wood home of Avtar Kolar and his wife Carole, who were found battered to death earlier this month.

Lithuanian Rimvydas Liorancas, 37, of Booth Street, Winson Green, has been charged with their murders and is due to appear at Birmingham Crown Court on May 25.