A SOUTH Kingscliff family is warning others to lock their doors after they were woken in the middle of the night by an intruder and threatened with a knife.

Sean English, 52, a patent lawyer with a Beijing-based mobile phone company, was left scared and shaken after he was woken by an intruder in the early hours of Monday morning.

The alleged incident took place around 2.15am on Monday at Mr English's beachfront property in the multi-million dollar Salt estate, which the family is renting while they build their dream home nearby.

"I felt somebody on my back, forcing my head into the pillow with a knee on my leg and lower back,” Mr English said.

"I thought he was trying to put me in either a sleeper hold or he was trying to strangle me.

"I had no idea there was a knife at first. I thought everything had resulted from his hands or finger nails.”

Scratch marks and cuts to Mr English's throat were clearly visible on Wednesday.

Mr English's wife Carolyn, who was sleeping in the adjacent room, woke up after hearing a loud bang.

"It sounded like somebody fell down the stairs,” she said.

"So I came running out and I saw Sean at the top of the stairs and he was just about to walk down and he was calling to our son.”

The couple, whose sons Jake, 21, and Luke, 18, were sleeping downstairs, called Triple 0, with police arriving within five minutes.

Mr English said specific details of the event were unclear.

"By the time I got down it was like he disappeared into thin air, I don't know where he went,” Mr English said.

"It all gets a bit foggy, I don't know exactly what was happening, I had been half asleep and now I am chasing a guy in my house. My main concern was are my kids okay and then is this guy still in my house?”

Mr English praised the actions of police, who quickly checked the house to see if the intruder was still on the property.

But he said the incident turned nasty after he posted a warning on a local social media site later that day.

"At first people were so kind ... but then suddenly the moderator said the facts on the police report did not coincide,” he said.

"It was just awful. We were the victims and then we were turned into the bad guys.

"I understand if it may not have been the right forum, but not that I am a liar. I am not crazy, I am not the type of person that needs attention.”

Ms English said he believed the incident may be related to the large number of youths in the area for Splendour in the Grass.

"We are confident this is a one-off. My feeling is this is just something that has happened, I don't think this will be a repeated thing,” she said.

"We think this place is paradise. We have lived in three countries and just know a good place when we see one.”

Tweed Byron LAC Superintendent Wayne Starling confirmed detectives were investigating, with forensic testing on the shirt and knife underway.