A GANG with stockings pulled over their heads broke into a home and sliced two men with a machete, a court heard.

The three men burst into the house in Hereford Walk, Craylands, looking for Alvin Blanchville at about 3am on July 6 last year - but a naked Mr Blanchville heard the commotion, jumped out of bed, where he was sleeping next to his mum, and fled through the window.

His two housemates, Marco Post and Owasemi Oguntoyinbo, were sleeping in their rooms when the gang found them and questioned them before slashing their legs.

Yesterday at Basildon Crown Court, prosecutor Christopher Paxton told how the incident was over a girl, drugs and money.

He said Mr Blanchville had befriended a woman and was bombarded with threatening phone calls and messages he believed were from her jealous boyfriend.

Mr Paxton explained: "Mr Post's door was knocked open and he was dragged down to Mr Oguntoyinbo's room. Over a period of time they were both assaulted with the machete and knife."

Mr Paxton said they were questioned about cannabis, cash and a girl, believed to be Mr Blanchville's new friend, before being attacked - both needed stitches to their leg wounds.

Mr Blanchville escaped and went to Basildon police station where he raised the alarm.

When police arrived they found a 17-year-old male, from Tottenham, who cannot be named for legal reasons, leaving the house with a machete and blood on his clothes.

He has pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and will be sentenced after the trial.

Mr Paxton said police later found defendants Oseikpo Aebontaen and Kingsley Brown driving to London in a car seen outside the house. They had stockings in the car and Mr Blanchville's car keys in the boot.

Mr Blanchville was the first witness to testify.

From behind a screen, he told how he had not taken the threats seriously at first. He said: "I didn't want to believe that someone would want to hurt me."

He also told the court his mum was visiting him from Nigeria and said he put a chair up against the door as he fled.

Brown, 26, of Ascot Road, London and Aebon-taen, 27, of Reedham Close, Tottenham, are on trial for two counts of aggravated burglary relating to the grevious bodily harm of the two housemates.

Both have pleaded not guilty.

The trial continues.