A mother was punched in the face and robbed of £40,000 worth of jewellery after two masked men forced their way into her home.

The violent burglary happened at an address in Commonside East, Mitcham on Wednesday, October 10, at about 10pm.

The robbers forced open the front door before running upstairs and punching the 36-year-old woman in the face before demanding gold, and also threatened to take her five year old daughter.

A large amount of gold jewellery was stolen by the men who then fled through the front door.

The men, whose faces were obscured with bandanas and hoods, were described as black and aged in their late teens or early 20s.

The first was about 5ft 3in and was wearing a brown tweed cap while the second was slimmer and about 5ft 7in with darker skin.

Police believe the crime is linked to five other violent burglaries which were reported to police in October where Asian jewellery was stolen.

Anyone with information should call Merton CID on 020 8649 3118 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.