Axe held to US teen's face in violent home invasion

A 17-year-old girl has been dragged inside her house and threatened with an axe during a violent home invasion in the US.

The teen girl was standing outside her California home with the family dog on Saturday afternoon when a woman approached and followed her to the front door.

A man joined her, pulled down a mask and suddenly scooped up the teen - forcing her back through the front door of her house.

The victim's sister claimed he then pulled out an axe and held it to her face as the woman and another male accomplice ransacked the home.

"They had a hatchet to her face when they had her in a headlock," the sister told NBC Los Angeles.

The trio fled in a black car after grabbing jewellery and around $5000 in cash the family had saved to buy the teenager a new car.

The victim's family said she has been traumatised by the event and is "terrified" to be alone.

"I know that when she's alone it gets her the most," her sister told NBC Los Angeles.