A PENSIONER attacked by a knife-wielding gang of thugs in South Africa has been told she will suffer from diabetes for the rest of her life as a result of the attack.

The family of Kathleen Strachan, 72, spoke of her latest heartache and said she was waiting for the go-ahead to return to her Colne home tomorrow.

Her son Donald, 36, also of Colne, said doctors in Cape Town discovered her blood sugar level had risen earlier this week. Further tests revealed she is diabetic.

Mrs Strachan will now have to take insulin for the rest of her life.

Mr Strachan said his mother was devastated by the news and desperately wants to return home.

Severely disabled, she was assaulted as she walked to a railway station in Kraaifontein, 25 miles from the capital Cape Town, with her daughter Lynn Daley. She suffered a broken shoulder and facial injuries.

The grandmother will be accompanied by a nurse if she is allowed to travel home.

Mr Strachan said: "All mum wants now is to be home, even though she will have to go back into hospital when she lands.

"It seems like she has been away for ages. I am counting down the days until she gets home so we can give her some of the home comforts that she's used to."

Mrs Strachan, who organises the annual poppy collections for the Royal British Legion in Nelson, was travelling by rail because her daughter's car had broken down.

She was pushed to the floor by a gang of six or seven youths at 6.15am on Friday, but was unable to break her fall because she suffers congenital paralysis in her arms.

The thugs stole a watch, necklace, a purse containing £1,000 and her passport. Donald said police are still investigating the incident, but have not found his mother's attackers.