Police are hunting armed two men after they broke into a house and demanded the owner hand over his car keys.

A 27 year-old man, his 29 year-old partner and their four-year-old child were sleeping when the suspects entered their home in Dickson Drive, Irvine at 4am on Thursday.

Police said the man woke up and confronted the intruders.

A struggle then took place and the pair left empty handed, in the direction of Dickson Drive.

The victim was taken to Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock with a leg injuries and has since been released.

Detective Constable Jennifer Carruth said: "The two despicable individuals broke into a family home with weapons and threatened the householder with violence.

"This type of abhorrent behaviour will not be tolerated and enquiries are ongoing to trace whoever is responsible.

"I would appeal to anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in Dickson Drive in the early hours of Thursday morning to please get in touch."

The suspects both had English accents.

One was wearing a red t-shirt, the other was wearing a white t-shirt and both had scarves covering their faces.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Saltcoats CID via 101, quoting incident number 0427 of Thursday 31 May 2018, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.