A PENSIONER was recovering today after vicious robbers held a hacksaw to his throat as they raided his home in Orchard Avenue, St Annes.

Mr Stanley Bolton, 82-years-old, was told: "Make a noise and we'll cut your throat." The two men demanded to know where his "takings" were and said: "Tell us where you keep the box of money."

After Mr Bolton protested he was only a pensioner and they were unable to find more money, they left with just £10. Today, Mr Bolton who had cuts and bruises to his head, arms, and legs described the experience as "like a nightmare".

The ordeal began at 8.30 pm on Tuesday night when Mr Bolton heard a faint tapping on his back door while he was watching television. He went to investigate and was confronted by a man who barged in and threw him to the floor and jumped on top of him. Another man followed.

Mr Bolton said: "The first man kept shouting at me to keep quiet and kept his hand in my mouth. When he got hold of my axe which I keep for gardening, I could picture myself being mutilated.

"I won't get over the experience." Meanwhile, the other man went round the house rifling through drawers and ordering Mr Bolton to tell him where the "takings" were.

Mr Bolton said: "It was all very strange. I kept telling him I didn't have a shop or business. I'm a pensioner - I don't have anything but my pension."

One of the robbers is described as being 5ft 11, in his mid 20s, with an athletic build, brown, wispy, collar-length hair, a brown beard and a moustache and blue eyes. He was wearing a patterned green, blue and yellow pullover with an open necked shirt and dark boots.

The other male is described as white, with short black hair in his mid 20s. He is of slim to average build.

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