TWO men, one wearing a Hallowe'en mask with fake fangs, burst into a house and terrified two women before stealing cash and property worth £6,000.

The men - one armed with an unknown weapon - got into the terraced cottage in Colne Road, Brierfield, through the back door and confronted 83-year-old Lucy Bloomfield and her daughter-in-law, Linda Bloomfield, who is in her 50s.

The raiders both had their faces covered and wore gloves.

They threatened the women and demanded cash and jewellery before fleeing on foot. The women were left terrified and shaken by their ordeal but were not physically harmed.

A Nelson CID spokesman said: "Our inquiries are continuing and because of the lateness of the hour we didn't have time last night to get the full details from the women. We are not sure what kind of weapon was involved yet."

One neighbour said: "They were shaken up really badly but not hurt. It seems these men suddenly appeared in the room."

Police officers, including dog handlers, combed the area but the raiders escaped. The man carrying the weapon was white, 5ft 8-9in. He was wearing dark clothing, a blue Hallowe'en mask with fangs, brown trousers, and grey "scuffed" training shoes.

His accomplice was also white, 5ft 11in and "well spoken." He was wearing a hooded anorak and shiny blue gloves, black trousers and brown shoes.

The incident happened just after 9.15pm yesterday. Anyone in the area who saw anything suspicious is asked to contact Nelson CID on 01282 472644.

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