A community leader says that families across Scotland are living in fear due to a spate of burglaries and home invasions in which organised gangs target Asian gold.

Rahul Vachhani, secretary of the Indo Scottish Cultural Society, spoke out after balaclava-wearing thugs raided the home of two 71-year-old women at knifepoint, leaving one injured.

The robbers forced their way into the property in Dumbreck, Glasgow, around 1pm on November 4 and made off with jewellery and cash.

Just 24 hours after the raid, Police Scotland revealed there have been 35 reported break-ins in and around Glasgow, Edinburgh, Clackmannan, Paisley, Renfrew and Ayrshire in the past eight months. Jewellery and cash worth more than £500,000 was stolen.

And in 2017 they told of 44 similar crimes in Greater Glasgow, Lothian, Fife, Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire, with total losses of £600,000.

High-purity gold jewellery is often given as a wedding gift to be passed down through generations and has traditionally been kept in family homes.

Mr Vachhani heard accounts from victims at a public meeting staged last year by police in East Dunbartonshire in a bid to reassure Asian community members.

He told STV News: "They were very frightened because they were victims. I've read research saying that victims, or even people who witness such things, can develop post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I've spoken to them and they are under constant fear now that that has happened to them."

The Dumbreck robbery is the latest in a three-year crime spree in which at least 80 family homes across Scotland were targeted with the loss of £1.1m of cash and jewels.

The true number of such crimes may be even higher as last year Police Scotland said it would cost too much to answer a freedom of information request for details of them all.

A relative of the women, speaking anonymously, said: "I cannot put into words how much hurt these people have caused physically and mentally to them and my family."

Glasgow south-west area commander, Chief Inspector Shaheen Baber, told STV News that detectives are determined to catch the perpetrators but communities should "take some responsibility for their own security".

He added: "It's Asian households being targeted for jewellery and cash.

"My aim is to reassure the public that we are doing what we can to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice, but at the same time I would ask our communities to review their home security, think about alarm systems, door locks, door windows.

"We have many incidents where people don't even lock their doors at night and we want to remind people to be vigilant of their surroundings, make sure their home security is up to date.

"If they have an alarm system, then use the alarm system. If you have CCTV, make sure it is in working order. Think about the insurance that covers their home. Is it adequate? If not then review that as well."

True cost may be unknown

The Dumbreck robbery is the latest in a three-year crime spree in which at least 80 family homes across Scotland were targeted with the loss of £1.1m of cash and jewels.

The true number of such crimes may be even higher as last year Police Scotland said it would cost too much to answer a freedom of information request for details of them all.

A relative of the women, speaking anonymously, said: "I cannot put into words how much hurt these people have caused physically and mentally to them and my family."

Glasgow south-west area commander, Chief Inspector Shaheen Baber, told STV News that detectives are determined to catch the perpetrators but communities should "take some responsibility for their own security".

He added: "It's Asian households being targeted for jewellery and cash.

"My aim is to reassure the public that we are doing what we can to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice, but at the same time I would ask our communities to review their home security, think about alarm systems, door locks, door windows.

"We have many incidents where people don't even lock their doors at night and we want to remind people to be vigilant of their surroundings, make sure their home security is up to date.

"If they have an alarm system, then use the alarm system. If you have CCTV, make sure it is in working order. Think about the insurance that covers their home. Is it adequate? If not then review that as well."

"If they have an alarm system, then use the alarm system. If you have CCTV, make sure it is in working order. Think about the insurance that covers their home. Is it adequate? If not then review that as well."

Police advice 'is taken seriously'

However, Mr Vachhani and others believe the police may be putting too much emphasis on what the community should be doing - and dispute claims that doors are left unlocked.

Mr Vachhani added: "From what I've heard from the community, we've taken that security advice from the police quite seriously. We lock the doors, windows, everything is checked before going to bed.

"Even when going out, alarms are on. I think that bit is covered from our side as a community because that's what we hear from people. If you start doing dos and don'ts living in your own house, that's not what we as a community would want to do."

One victim of a high-value burglary, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "There is little from Police Scotland apart from the usual platitudes.

'The sky is the limit'

Mohammed Amin Sadiq owns Atta jewellers which was founded by his father more than 30 years ago in Glasgow's west end and which supplies bespoke gold jewellery - often 22 and 24-carat.

A bride's jewellery set can typically cost tens of thousands of pounds but "the sky is the limit".

He said: "That's one of the main reasons why in the Asian culture or the oriental culture they tend to keep gold just in case they fall on hard times, they can sell it and they've got a back up for it.

"Some pieces which are like the grandmother's wedding jewellery, they'll pass that down to their daughter, holds a lot of sentimental value."

He also says that families are increasingly removing valuables from homes, adding: "They don't keep it in the house anymore they've been putting it into safety deposit box now compared to just having it lying around the house, under the mattress or in the cupboard.

"It has gone around within the Asian community now, they're trying to avoid keeping jewellery or anything expensive like that in the house.

"It's a worrying time for a lot of them but at the same time they're taking the precautions for it as well now."

Police often seek help from Mr Sadiq and they have told him that gold stolen in Scotland is often sent to England where it is melted down - rendering it untraceable.

Last year the BBC estimated that more than £140m was stolen across the UK over a five-year period - but that did not include figures from Scotland.