Masked gang rob Kerry Katona

LONDON (Reuters) - Former Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Katona was held hostage by armed robbers, along with her husband and baby, during a burglary at their Cheshire home in the early hours of Monday, police said.

Just before midnight, Katona, Mark Croft, 36, and five-month-old Heidi were confronted by three masked men, armed with a sledgehammer, a crowbar and a large knife at their house in Wilmslow.

Katona's spokesman Max Clifford said she was in a "dreadful state" and that one of the robbers had held a knife to her throat at one stage during the incident.

"It was a most horrible experience," Clifford told Sky News.

Police said one of the robbers had stayed downstairs with Katona and the baby, while the other two forced Croft to go through the house to help identify property to steal.

All three family members were then secured in a downstairs room while the robbers carried out the burglary and fled. Katona and Croft later managed to escape and raise the alarm.

"They have not been harmed but were left shaken and their ordeal has lasted for around half an hour," a Cheshire Police spokeswoman said.

The robbers got away with two televisions, including a 42 inch plasma screen TV, an Xbox and a Playstation 3 gaming machines, jewellery and watches.

They also took the family's top-of-the-range blue BMW M5 sports car which the couple had only had for a few weeks.