Former Top Gear host Richard Hammond and his family have been gassed and robbed while on holiday in the South of France.

Hammond, 48, was staying in a villa in Saint-Tropez with his wife Mindy, teenage daughter Willow and 15 friends where they were believed to have been targeted by thieves.

They were reportedly struck with an anaesthetic gas before burglars stole cash and jewellery.

Mindy, 53, described the experience as a “horror story”, revealing she woke up as the robbers rifled through their belongings.

“I went downstairs and into the hallway. The door into the living room was shut but I heard a male voice behind the door,” she told the Sunday Express.

“I thought it was another couple staying up and went back to bed.

“Actually, it was the burglars.

“That just makes my blood run cold. I could have easily walked in and it could have been unpleasant.”

Richard Hammond and his wife Mindy, along with their two daughters Isabella and Willow. Photo: Getty

Mindy said it wasn’t until the following day that everyone began to realise something was wrong, after guests, including ex-Formula One driver Jensen Button, noticed money missing from their wallets and purses.

Willow, 15 also discovered her watch had been stolen.

“It’s particularly worrying when you have a teenage girl who knows that her bedside table has been rifled through while she was sleeping – that’s not very nice at all,” Mindy said.

“I’m pretty convinced we must have been gassed or something, because they were in all of the bedrooms – they went where they wanted, into each room, opening and closing the drawers, searching through handbags etc,” Mindy said.

“That morning I slept in until eight. I didn’t even wake to Richard’s snoring! Nobody woke up.

Policer saidt the robbery was part of a string of burglaries, with neighbouring villas also being targeted on the same night.

Two men, whose faces were seen on CCTV, were arrested 48 hours later.