THE landlady at the centre of the violence told today how her young children screamed in terror and customers ran for cover as her pub came under attack from a gang of stone-throwing youths.

Marie Coulston, licensee of the Duke of York at Duke Bar, said two of her customers were knocked unconscious by stones which shattered a dozen windows at the hotel on Saturday - 24 hours before the pub was wrecked in a fire attack.

Her two young children narrowly escaped injury as missiles flew through the windows of the upstairs living quarters.

She told of her horror as she looked out of a pub window shortly before 11pm on Saturday and saw a gang of "at least 70 Asians" running at the Colne Road pub throwing stones.

Mrs Coulston said she had now taken the children, Darrell, 12, and seven- year-old Stephen to stay with relatives.

She said: "We are living in fear of our lives. I just don't know why this has happened to us."

One regular who was dancing in the pub was hit in the face and was taken to hospital with a broken nose and other facial injuries.

Another customer Steven Grennan ran to the the pub door and came under a hail of missiles, knocking him unconscious.

Joiner Mr Grennan, 39, said; "I thought I was being stoned to death.

"I was hit on the head several times and just blacked out."

He said customers were covered in hail of stones as windows were shattered.

"Marie told everyone to get down and go to the other end of the pub.

"It was frightening."

Mrs Coulston, landlady for the past year added: "There is never any trouble here and it was just another normal Saturday night.

"There was just no reason for it."