A toddler escaped injury yesterday when an intruder threw her onto the floor of her home in Melbourne's western suburbs.
Police say the child's father was at the family home in Laverton just before midday, when he heard a noise coming from the loungeroom.
He rushed into the room to find a stranger holding his 11-month-old daughter.
The man threw the toddler onto the floor and a brief scuffle broke out between the father and the intruder.
Police say the father grabbed a meat cleaver from the kitchen and chased the intruder out.
The intruder then ran out of the house through the garage and into a waiting car, described as a silver Hyundai hatch.
The toddler was taken to hospital but was found to be uninjured.
The intruder's described as being of Asian appearance.