A BANK manager who was kidnapped with his family by gun-wielding robbers has spoken about their 14-hour ordeal.

Jonathan Diggle says that they will never forget the trauma of being taken prisoner and being held hostage by three raiders.

The 45-year-old was bundled out of his house in Leigh on Tuesday evening with his wife Lynne, also 45, and their two daughters, Joanne, 14 and 12-year-old Nicola.

Their nightmare ended the following day when Mr Diggle was forced to open the bank vault at the NatWest in Whitefield, and the the gang escaped with a large amount of cash, believed to be up to £50,000.

Mr Diggle said: "This whole incident has left us all extremely traumatised and we will never be able to forget those fearful moments.

"We were enjoying a family night in, just like any normal evening, when the men burst in and forced us to leave the house. To say we were terrified is an understatement. I never imagined that being a bank manager would put us through such hell.

"What these men did to us will stay with us for a very long time, but we are determined to not let it ruin our lives. We want to be left alone as a family so we can try to get over this dreadful experience."

Today, the shocked family were being kept under police guard as they recovered from their ordeal.

It has emerged that the three raiders burst into the bank's vault on Bury New Road wearing black wigs and fake beards.

Detectives believe that the trio communicated with each other on hand-held radios during the 14-hour operation.

A Renault Megane Scenic in which the family were held prisoner overnight, has been found burnt out behind the Esso Services on Manchester Road in Kearsley.

The vehicle had been reported stolen from the Preston area in July, with the registration number T161 PBA.

Police have descriptions of the gang.

The first man is white, aged 30 to 40, 5ft 6ins, slim with a beard, which could possibly be false. He was wearing a dark coloured wig, a grey suit, a shirt and tie and spoke with a Manchester or Salford accent.

The second man is white, 5ft 8ins, stocky and with a beard which also appeared false.

He was wearing a black wig, a suit, shirt and tie. There is no description of the third offender. Supt Peter Scofield, from Bury Police, said: "We are particularly interested in speaking to anyone who may have seen the silver Renault Megane Scenic between July and yesterday and also if anyone saw the vehicle on Manchester Road where it was found burnt out. "The men moved between a number of different locations during the robbery and we urgently need to speak to anyone who may have seen them at any of the spots."

The men, armed with a handgun, took Mr Dingle and his family from their home at approximately 8pm on Wednesday evening.

They forced the bank manager to drive the family car, a Fiat Brava, to an unknown location, at gunpoint.

Once they reached their destination, they ordered the family into a silver Renault Megane Scenic which had false number plates, P351 BGW. The four were then driven for 30 minutes until they stopped at a warehouse style building in an unknown area.

They were left inside the van until about 7.30am the next morning when Mr Dingle was forced to go to the Natwest bank on Bury New Road in Whitefield.

Mrs Dingle and her two children were taken to Ringley Old Brow in Stoneclough were they were tied to a lamppost and left.

The mother managed to escape shortly after 9.30am and ran to a nearby house where she called the police.

When the manager arrived at the bank with the men they forced him to open the door with his keys.

While inside the bank, four employees arrived for work and the gang forced all four, along with the manager, inside the bank's vault, which they then locked. The offenders then fled with the cash.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0161 856 8243 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.