A woman has been attacked with baseball bats and a knife while she was in labour after five masked men broke into her home.

The 22-year-old and her partner were preparing to go to hospital when the gang burst into her house in Beambridge, Basildon, on Monday evening.

Her two-year-old was reportedly asleep upstairs as the attack took place.

"Five men smashed their way into the premises, armed with crowbars, and assaulted the male and female occupants before leaving the scene on foot," an Essex Police spokeswoman said.

The woman's 32-year-old partner told the Basildon Echo her contractions were about six minutes apart when he heard glass being smashed.

"My partner started screaming my name and I just heard these men shouting something like, 'where's the money? Give us the money'," he said.

"I came down running down the stairs and they were attacking her. I just threw my arms round her to protect her. They carried on beating us.

"I was just shouting back at them, ‘you are wrong man, she is in labour."

The woman suffered a fractured skull and a cut to her face, but later gave birth to a healthy baby after being taken to hospital.

The attackers escaped with electrical goods, including an iPad, and a small amount of cash.

They were in the their early to mid-20s. Four were white and the other black.

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o lord!!dis z so wrong....beating a woman while she z in labour?dose guys r heartless o...dey shud av jes hlpd ha deliver d baby n afta safe delivery, carry on wit deir mission.. I wish ha speedy recovery