Masked raiders who held a knife to the throat of Cilla Black's youngest son escaped with more than £1m worth of jewellery, cash and gold, the star said last night.

The collection included gifts from her late husband, Bobby Willis.

Former Blind Date host Cilla said it was "heartbreaking" to lose the items but it did not compare to the ordeal her 22-year-old son Jack had endured.

Cilla said: "I am just so grateful he is alive and slowly coming to terms with what has happened.

"Obviously the jewellery does not compare with what Jack has had to endure, but losing my entire collection of all the gifts Bobby gave me, and my mam's wedding and engagement rings, is heartbreaking.

"Their sentimental value far outweighs their material worth."

Cilla was away from her Buckinghamshire home when the burglary occurred on Saturday around midnight.

Three men wearing balaclavas broke into the house where Jack was alone watching TV in his bedroom.

The intruders scaled a perimeter fence and forced open a ground-floor window.

Jack heard banging on his bedroom door and assumed it was his brother Ben, who was to due stay the night after attending a nearby wedding.

When he realised they were intruders he tried to shut the door but they forced it open and attacked him with a crowbar.

Jack was made to lie down with his hands cuffed behind his back, while one of the burglars held a hunting knife to his throat.

The men threatened to kill Jack unless they were shown where Cilla's jewellery and valuables were secured, said the TV star's publicist.

He did so and the intruders took all the gifts which Bobby - who died of cancer in 1999 - had given her over the years.

They also took her mother's rings, cash and a small amount of gold, totalling more than £1m.

The men threatened to put Jack in the boot of their car and kidnap him, but after reasoning with them, they left him tied to a radiator.

Cilla cut short a holiday and returned home to the village of Denham yesterday.

The emotional star, wearing sunglasses, a white shirt and jeans, headed into her home to be reunited with her children.

She said: "I am totally devastated and appalled at what has happened. Our Jack has been a very brave man, and I'm extremely proud at the way he handled and is handling this traumatic experience.

"What he was subjected to must be everyone's nightmare; to be woken up by three masked intruders, assaulted with a crowbar, have your life threatened with a knife held to your throat and to be told you'll be kidnapped for ransom is truly horrific."

She continued: "Now I've lost everything I will not be replacing them, you can't replace sentimental value and it's not worth putting anyone's life at risk.

"Burglary is not just a violation of your home but also a terrible psychological crime as anyone who's experienced it will know.

"Sadly it seems to be becoming more and more common these days."

Police said Jack was shaken but did not require hospital treatment. A spokesman said: "Police mounted a search of the area, but the offenders were not located."

Cilla quit her long-running series Blind Date during a live show earlier this year. ITV1 is not planning to continue the series without her.

Husband Bobby helped to make her one of the biggest stars on TV as her manager.

Prior to her TV work she enjoyed a pop career, rising from the same Liverpool music scene in the early Sixties alongside The Beatles who were good friends of Cilla.