AN 80-year-old man and his son were lured into an ambush by armed robbers.

The men went to an address in Gigg Lane, Bury, on Sunday evening, carrying a significant amount of money after arranging to buy a van from a man they had made contact with through a classified ad.

The father and son, from Warrington, found no-one at the address when they arrived so waited outside in their Mitsubishi Shogun and called the vendor on his mobile phone.

A short time later, a dark coloured Peugeot 206 pulled up with two men inside. They claimed they had been sent by the vendor to show them the van documents and invited them into the house. The son went into the house leaving his 80-year-old father sitting in the Shogun.

A spokesman for the Bury CID said: "On entering the lounge the son was forced to empty his pockets while being threatened with a knife. The men demanded he hand over the money.

"One of the thugs then approached the father who was still sitting in the Shogun. The thug removed the ignition key and threatened to stab the father, telling him his son would be shot if he did not hand over the money.

"He then punched the father in the face, breaking his false teeth before forcing him out of the vehicle and stealing the Shogun and the cash they had brought to pay for the van.

"In the house the son seized the opportunity to push the second man out of the front door before locking it from the inside and leaving the property by the back door. He ran down the street and called the police from an address in Alfred Street."

Both robbers were described as white, aged in their early 30s and slim. They were wearing dark coloured bomber jackets with hoods.

Police are appealing to anyone who may have seen the dark blue Shogun, registration HVV 146, since Sunday evening or anyone with any further information on the crime to contact Bury CID on 0161 856 8150 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.