A devastated dad has revealed how he feels 'less of a man' for not fighting back hard enough against violent armed robbers who threatened his nine-year-old boy with an axe.
Rajinder Auluk, 40, could only look on helplessly as the gang's masked ringleader held the axe to his terrified boy's throat in front of his wife Baljit and eldest son Jay.
The robber demanded cash and car keys while his three accomplices stood guard with a getaway driver waiting outside the home in Great Barr, Birmingham.
But in an interview with his local newspaper, dad Rajinder said he feared Jay, 16, had lost faith in him for not doing more to protect the family during the ordeal on Monday night.
"My eldest has been calling me names because I did not do enough," he said.
"But, at the time, I was stuck. He was thinking I should have been superman and now I feel less of a man.
"I felt like I should have got one of them and attacked them. I don't want him to think I am weak."
Property developer Rajinder said the robbers held the axe to his terrified nine-year-old son's neck and said they would cut the boy's throat unless he complied.
Rajinder told how the gang smashed their way into the home in Great Barr, Birmingham, with sledgehammers and axes.
Rajinder added: "I went into the hallway and saw silhouettes outside the main door. The glass of the door suddenly exploded in my face and three of them rushed in.
"They threatened me and asked me for cash. I told them I don't keep cash in the house and so they demanded car keys.
"They got them and started to leave but one suddenly turned round and shouted, 'Where's that little b******?
"He was talking about my son. He was cowering behind the sofa but he must have poked his head over the top because the man grabbed him.
"He held this axe right up to his throat just under his chin. I tried to get between them and get my boy away from the man.
"The axe caught me in the chest and I started bleeding."
His son, who he does not want named, is now too frightened to live in the house.
The gang fled with Rajinder's Mercedes CLK and Baljit's Nissan Pulsar GTR. His car was found nearby by police who were at the scene in minutes.
Detective Constable Derek Cole of West Midlands Police said: "This was a truly horrendous ordeal for the family."
Anyone with information should call Force CID in Harborne on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.