A pair of elderly bowlers were attacked after asking a group of youths to stop vandalising the green.

The shocking attack took place in Farnworth on May 1 at around 5pm.

But details of the assault, which left the men, one in his 70s and the other in his 80s, with cuts and bruises to their faces, have only just emerged.

The attack comes after a spate of vandalism at Doe Hey Bowling and Social Club in Farnworth over a number of years.

The horrendous assault took place after the two went to confront the young vandals and were set upon.

The pair were left traumatised as a result of the attack

The man in his 80s, who asked not to be named, said: “There has been antisocial behaviour and vandalism at the bowling club and there has been for a number of years.

“It is not the physical side of it, it’s the mental side.”

He said the other man who was attacked did not wish to speak as he “doesn’t want to go through all that again.”

He added that the man in his 70s was having flashbacks to the incident.

The man in his 80s added: “Violence is violence you can’t do anything about it.”

He said talking about the incident was “bringing it all up, it is sickening.”

Eric Tomlinson, a former captain of the club, confirmed the area had been plagued by vandals for some time.

He said: “There has been incidents over the years.

“There have been recent incidents and there have been incidents over the last five to six years.

“They have all been reported to the police and council.”

Police confirmed they were probing the incident.

A GMP spokesperson said: “This was reported to us and is being investigated.

“No arrests have been made and anyone with information should contact us online via our LiveChat facility, if able, or by calling 101 quoting incident 2285 of 01/05/2022.

“Details can be passed to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”