POLICE are appealing for witnesses to an incident in which a 36-year-old woman was threatened by two males brandishing a cigarette lighter and a hypodermic needle.

The woman approached by two males, described as between 16 and 25 years of age, one each side of her.

One held a cigarette lighter to her leg and the other held the syringe to her leg while they demanded money from her.

The woman handed over a quantity of cash and the pair then left. She was not injured.

Both offenders were described as 5ft 8ins, one wearing a dark hat under a dark coloured hood, a top with a zip up the middle and dark jeans or trousers, and the second male was wearing a dark hat, dark coloured top and possibly dark coloured trousers.

The incident happened in North Valley Road, Colne, close to McDonald's, around 5.15pm on Thursday

DC Andy Eddleston, at Colne CID, said: "The woman is very shook up by the incident which was a particularly nasty and despicable offence. Fortunately for us it is quite a rare offence.

"If anyone has seen anything we ask them to get in touch as soon as possible. People see things and don't always realise what is going on. It would have been quite busy on the North Valley Road at that time and someone may have seen something."

Anyone with information should contact DC Joanne Whitehead or any other Colne CID officer on 01282 472445.