A BURGLAR who held a family captive in their own home and threatened to kill them was caught after a 13-year-old used a tracker to find his stolen iPhone.

Police traced Grant Alam to an address in Tonge Moor after Jack Maguire used the Find My iPhone app to track down the thief.

The 24-year-old was today jailed for 10-and-a-half years for his part in the terrifying raid at the house in Cox Green Road, Egerton.

Police also praised Jack's 10-year-old sister Olivia who bravely called 999 when five men raided the Maguire family home in September last year.

Their mum and dad Kelly and Stephen Maguire were watching television with their daughter when the attackers — who were hooded and covered their faces with scarves — broke in through the back door and confronted them, one brandishing a hammer and another an iron bar, which was used to hit the family's dog.

They stole two cars — a Mercedes 220 and a grey Mini — worth £60,000 and gadgets worth £7,700 including iPhones, iPads, two watches and an Amazon Kindle, as well as Mr Maguire's wallet and Mrs Maguire's purse.

Andrew Smith, prosecuting, said Alam brandished a hammer above his head demanding money and the location of the family safe, shouting: "I'll kill you, I'll kill you all".

Mrs Maguire and her daughter Olivia were ordered upstairs while Mr Maguire was told he would be shot if he did not tell the gang where the safe was — despite him telling them there was no safe.

While the family were taken upstairs, their son Jack came out of his bedroom, where he had been playing on his Xbox, after hearing the disturbance. He was then kept in his room by two men.

After the gang fled, Mr Maguire flagged down a passing car and asked the driver to call police.

Mr Smith told the court how Jack realised that he was able to track his iPhone so went to a neighbour and was able to find the phone on their computer.

Alam was quickly found and arrested in Priory Place with clothes matching the description given to police.

In a statement read to the court by Mr Smith, mum Mrs Maguire said she now suffers from panic attacks and has been prescribed antidepressants, while Mr Maguire said he now feels guilty for not being able to protect his family.

Mrs Maguire said: "They violated our home and our lives."

The court also heard how since the attack, Olivia and Jack frequently slept in bed with their parents.

Olivia, who was nine when the attack happened, said: "I lie in bed and listen for noise and my brother does the same.

"I go to bed later as I don't like being upstairs on my own. Sundays are the worst as that is the day it happened."

Sentencing Alam, of Tonge Moor Road, Judge Peter Davies said: "I have heard a recording of a 999 call made by a nine-year-old and to hear her distress and anguish is harrowing and distressing to all.

"The family's back door was unlocked and why shouldn't it be unlocked? They are entitled to live in their home and feel safe.

"They didn't know that you and your friends, who you have never named, would confront them in their home.

"The invasion was cowardly as you were disguised and you were armed.

"You demanded to know the location of a safe and keys to the family’s cars.

"You callously ignored the children and the tears of Olivia who was inconsolable. She was nine.

"Jack was separated from his family and followed in to his bedroom by two men.

"The children could hear you saying 'I will kill you, I will kill you all' and they believed that they and their parents were going to die in their home."

Det Sgt Tammy Woodhouse said: "This young family were subjected to a truly terrifying ordeal at the hands of Alam and his co-conspirators.

"Understandably, the family were traumatised and I can only hope that seeing Alam sent to prison for such a long time gives them some sense of justice, and some peace of mind, as they move forward with their lives.

"I must also praise the young girl who, despite the trauma she and her family were enduring, called 999 while the attack was taking place.

"To do so took incredible guts and courage and helped lead us to Alam. Such bravery in the face of adversity cannot be underestimated.

"No-one should ever be made to feel that way in their own home, and anyone who has experienced it will know just how deeply unsettling it can be."