A Muswell Hill family say they are terrified of living in their own home, after a father was threatened with a machete in the stairwell of their housing block, after being attacked by a gang of teenagers.

Ana Bellver, 45, who lives with their two sons in Coles House on Muswell Hill Road said she feared for her husband’s life when he was attacked by the thugs on Friday evening.

According to Mrs Bellver, communal areas of the building have been used for drug taking over the last year.

A few weeks ago, their neighbour was punched after he asked them to leave the building.

Mrs Bellver told the Ham&High she has called the police more than 15 times over the last year about the issue, which reached a crescendo on Friday night.

A group of six teenagers, both boys and girls, broke into Coles House were being noisy and “trashing” the building. Mrs Bellver’s husband, Oscar Lozano, went outside and asked them to leave.

When three of the teenage boys refused, they began to attack Mr Lozano. One of them hit him with nunchucks, a martial arts weapon, while one of the other punched and kicked Mr Lozano.

The other teen then produced a “foot-long” machete, which was when Mrs Bellver feared for her husband’s life.

“I was scared to death, the one with the machete was standing there and I realised how dangerous the situation was.

“My reaction was to scream as much as I could so everybody outside could hear me. I told them I’d called the police and they were coming,” she said.

Their two children, aged 5 and 9, were told to stay in their flat and call the police.

The men then fled towards Fortis Green Avenue. Police believe they are aged between 18 and 23. There have been no arrests.

Mr Lozano escaped from the ordeal with cuts and bruises, but was left shaken by the ordeal.

Mrs Bellver is concerned about the bold attitude of her husband’s attackers. “It’s like they are looking for an excuse to use the machete. We are terrified of what could happen next,” she said.

She also criticised the response of Lambert, Smith, Hampton (LSH), who manage the building. “We pay a nice amount of money for our flat, but the response has been nothing.

A spokeswoman for LSH said they would be increasing their security. ““Resident safety is our number one priority and we take any concerns they have seriously. Our helpdesk has received two reports of anti-social behaviour at Coles House in the last six months and we responded to the residents in question on both occasions.

“The building has a number of security measures in place, such as a CCTV system and a secure entry system. To further reduce the likelihood of incidents of anti-social behaviour, we regularly email the residents to remind them not to let people tailgate and follow residents into the building.

“Following the incident on January 19 we have introduced evening security patrols, and are liaising with specialists on improving security measures for the building. We are assisting the police with their enquiries and have also requested a meeting with the community policing unit to discuss the residents’ concerns about anti-social behaviour in the area.”