A FAMILY were terrorised and brutally assaulted in their own home by a gang of masked armed robbers

A grandmother had jewellery ripped from her ears, hands and neck, leaving her with serious injuries.

The terrifying raid took place on Monday evening at the house in Harrowby Street, Farnworth, when four men covering the lower part of their faces with bandanas burst in through the back door into the kitchen brandishing a large dagger.

The mother, who was cooking at the time, was attacked with a rolling pin in the head, back and shoulder before being dragged by the hair into the living room, the force of which ripped part of her scalp off, leaving her bleeding heavily.

Then, when the robbers were leaving the house, they subjected the 62-year-old grandmother to a horrific attack as she was pulling into the driveway to visit — smashing the window of her van with a spade and ripping off her jewellery.

The family say they have been left traumatised by the robbery and made to feel unsafe in their home.

They are appealing for anyone with information to contact police to stop the gang targeting another family.

The robbers, plus an armed guard who stood outside, struck at the house at around 10pm.

The mother, terrified of what they were going to do to her family, hit one of the raiders with the rolling pin she was using before it was grabbed from her and used to attack her.

Her 14-year-old daughter, who was in the kitchen, stood between the knife and baseball bat-wielding robbers and her auntie, who had just undergone a serious operation to the eye and was warned by doctors not to suffer any knock or blow to the head, as they went to grab her.

Also in the house was the father, aged 42, and a six-year-old relative.

The teenager managed to grab a mobile phone and hide in a cupboard under the stairs and ring police as the robbery was taking place.

The mother, aged 36, who asked for her family not to be named, said: "The first male was the same height and build as my son who wasn't in and we were expecting him to come home at the time and my first instinct was it was my son. When the second man walked in I knew we were being robbed.

"They went to my sister first and pulled out a dagger-type knife.

"I was shouting at them 'don't hit my sister'. They went towards her to push and pull her into the living room but my daughter stood in front of her. She barricaded my sister with her arms and her body.

"My daughter did not panic. She actually went into the living room and picked up the mobile and rang the police up."

The daughter said: "I knew there was no point in panicking and I said there were people in the house robbing us.

"I told them they had hit my mum and my grandma. I managed to tell them the address and the postcode."

The raiders fled the house after searching upstairs as the grandmother was driving in.

"They grabbed a spade and smashed the window, pulling off her bracelets which she has had for years, and ripped out her earrings, which her mother had given her and ripped a necklace from her." said the mother, who said both her sister and mother had not returned to the house since the attack.

"My mother is a very strong woman, she is works as an ice-cream woman in Wigan, but after that incident it has affected her confidence.

"She told me she just froze when she saw the men coming out of the house with knives. She thought they had killed us and they were coming for her."

The two received hospital treatment and are recovering at home from their injuries.

The mum added: "You never think that something like this would ever happen to you.

"Yesterday I sat and didn't move an inch and each noise I would hear outside, the slightest noise. My daughter told me to take down the wind chimes outside because they make a noise.

"The family have been left traumatised, my daughter has not slept since, and my son is trying to do his own investigation, he is so angry that this has happened in our home, where you are supposed to feel safe."

The daughter added: "The family has been left traumatised, I can't sleep. My grandma is the most respected person in my family and everyone is hurt by what has happened to her.

"It is so important that anyone with information contacts the police. We went through so much as a family and nobody deserves to go through this, you shouldn't feel violated in your home it should be safe and for that to be ruined in five minutes."

The mother added:"I won't let them make us feel scared in my own home."

Cllr Martyn Cox, who is close friends with the family, said: "Whilst the family are not from the ward I represent, they are very well known to me and are a lovely family. What they went through was a horrific experience.

"The perpetrators should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. The police are investigating and should expect to be caught, prosecuted and spend a long time in prison."

Police confirmed they are investigating the robbery.

Anyone with any information should ring 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting 2371/23 July 2018.