A TEENAGE thief knocked a pensioner to the floor as he forced his way into her home to steal.

The boy, aged about 16, turned violent when he failed to con his way into the 87-year-old's Buller Street home in Bury yesterday afternoon.

He initially claimed he wanted to look inside the house as he was thinking about buying the adjoining property.

The woman refused and as she began to close the door the thief rushed into the house, knocking the pensioner over, and searched the living room.

He then ran off with a handbag containing around £100 worth of cash and property.

The thief was white, slim, 5ft 4 inches tall with short brown hair. He was wearing a dark pullover and spoke with an Irish accent. He also had a two inch long scar at the side of his mouth.