Mark Cavendish: British cyclist assaulted by armed men during burglary at his home

Mark Cavendish was recovering from serious injuries sustained in a crash at the Six Days of Ghent at the time of the attack

British cyclist Mark Cavendish was assaulted by four armed men during a burglary at his home on 27 November.

The Manx rider was suffering from two broken ribs and a collapsed lung sustained in a crash on 21 November.

Essex Police said none of the family sustained serious injuries but were "incredibly shaken" by the incident.

They added the group stole a Louis Vuitton suitcase and two "high-value" watches and that no arrests had yet been made.

"This incident has left our family extremely distressed - not just myself and Peta but our children as well, who feared for their lives and are now struggling with the after-effects," said Cavendish.

"No-one should have to experience the sort of violence and threats made against us, let alone this happening in a family home - a place where everyone should feel safe.

"The items taken are simply material goods and our priority at the moment is to make sure we all recover from the incident as a family, and we know this is likely to take some time."

Essex Police have released CCTV images of the group and appealed for anyone in the Ongar area of Essex between 02:00 and 02:40 GMT on 27 November who has information that could help their investigation to make contact.

Detective Inspector Tony Atkin said it was "undoubtedly a targeted incident" following Cavendish's "well publicised" crash at the Six Days of Ghent track cycling event in Belgium the week before.

"It is likely the people who stole these items are attempting to offload them for sizeable sums of money and I would urge anyone who is being offered these items to please get in touch with us - they are stolen property," he added.

"If you have been offered these items, please contact us immediately."

Cavendish, who equalled the record of 34 Tour de France stage wins this year and won the Green Jersey, signed a one-year contract extension with Deceuninck-Quick-Step on Tuesday.