A TEENAGE car-jacking victim today told how his girlfriend's 17th birthday celebrations turned to horror when they were forced out of their car at gunpoint.

And the young man's mum also revealed how her son is struggling to cope with the horrific experience.

The 18-year-old bakery worker had taken his girlfriend to the cinema for her birthday a week ago tonight.

The young couple were on their way home to Bacup after a good night out when the car-jackers struck around 12.05am.

The young victim said: "We had stopped at the temporary traffic lights on Bacup Road in Rawtenstall. I noticed a man standing at the side of the road, but I thought he was just waiting for a taxi. The next thing I knew two men had jumped into the back of my car. "At first I thought they were just drunk and messing about, but then I realised one of them was holding a gun about five inches from my head."

The men then forced the terrified youngsters out of their red Vauxhall Astra and sped off. The stunned couple then telephoned police from a public phone box near the Ashworth Arms pub. The young driver's mum said: "I couldn't believe it when I heard what had happened to them. We didn't get back from our holidays until 3am on Saturday, just a few hours after it happened. He was sitting on the sofa looking absolutely stunned. I think he was still in shock because he just said his car had been stolen, it was only later that we found out the full story.

"He is still very nervous. I picked him up from work the other day and he locked all the doors as soon as he got into the car. You just don't imagine something like this is going to happen."

The teenager's red Astra registration number S675 ABN was spotted in Rochdale the day after the incident, but has still not been traced.

One person has been arrested and questioned in connection with the incident, but police are still appealing for witnesses and are particularly anxious to speak to the driver or passengers from a blue old-style Landrover parked behind the Vauxhall, who would have had a clear view of the incident.