A PUB landlady has told of the terrifying moment when she woke to find a burglar wearing a deerstalker hat stealing thousands of pounds from her home.

Angela Harvey, landlady at The Poachers in Blackrod, saw a man walk out of the pubs’s office after she got up in the early hours of the morning.

At first she assumed it was her husband, Bob, but when she went back into the bedroom she realised he was still in bed. The 53-year-old screamed and ran out of the bedroom after the burglar.

She ran to the kitchen and saw the man, who was wearing a black and grey Sherlock Holmes-style hat without the tassle, on the roof.

Mrs Harvey frantically banged on the window but the burglar turned around, smiled at her, and ran off.

She said: “I am still really shocked. God knows what could have happened.

“It was just by chance that I had woken up and I was in a bit of a daze when I went to the bathroom.

“When I realised Bob was still in bed I screamed that someone was in the pub.”

The burglar fled with about £2,000 in cash. It was made up of takings from Saturday night, money from the bandit machines and savings the couple had taken out for their daughter’s 30th birthday. The money was going to be used to take her seven-year-old son on holiday while her husband is serving in Afghanistan.

Car and van keys were also stolen.

The pub locks have been changed, but Mrs Harvey is worried the burglar may try to come back.

She added: “I can’t believe he turned and smiled at me. It is the after effects that are the worst. My grandson was here last week and you start thinking what could have happened.

“He could have been armed, he could have come into our bedroom.”

Security has been stepped up at the pub since the burglary at 6.30am on Sunday and metal bars are being installed on the window.

Mrs Harvey said: “That should help me sleep a bit better but you shouldn’t have to live like that in your own home.”

She described the burglar as about 5ft 6in to 5ft 8in tall, in his late 20s or early 30s, and as well as the hat, was wearing jeans and a black jacket.

The Toll Bar in Horwich was also targeted on Tuesday in the early hours of the morning but the raiders were disturbed and ran off.

Police are now urging pubs to take steps to ensure their property is secure.

They believe the venues have been targeted after the busy bank holiday weekend, which saw thousands of visitors for the town’s annual Food and Drink Festival.

Police Community Support Officer Steve Best, of Bolton West neighbourhood policing team, said: “We are investigating the possibility that these incidents could be linked.

“We have been speaking to pubs and off licences about securing their properties and cash. Pubwatch has also been informed.

“It was a busy weekend and we are asking pubs to be extra careful.”