A 73-year-old woman was dragged behind a car after she was robbed on the M66 slip road at Ramsbottom.The pensioner, from Walton, Liverpool, was visiting her daughter in Bury when the incident happened at 9.40pm on Tuesday. As she drove towards the motorway, two men in a small orange vehicle, possibly a Mini, rammed into the back of her car, causing her to stop.

When they got out to inspect the damage, one of the men grabbed her bag containing £50 from the front seat of her car.

As the robbers drove off, the woman attempted to grab her bag back and hung on to their passenger door. But she was pushed to the ground and dragged along behind the car for a short distance. She suffered a fractured nose and cuts and bruising to her face, knees and elbows.

A passer-by took her back to her daughter's house where a doctor gave her 12 stitches to her face and nose.

The woman is recovering in a Merseyside hospital where her condition is described as "comfortable."

Police in Bury have slammed the act as "despicable" and "cowardly."

Det Insp Jeff Warburton said: "It is a despicable act carried out by two very cowardly individuals on a lone female in rural area of the borough.

"We are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward."

Both men were white and about 18 years old.

Anyone with any information about this crime should contact Bury Crime Management Unit on 0161 856 8140, or Crimestoppers on 0800 111555. You call is free, you don't have to give your name, and you may qualify for a Crimestoppers' Trust Reward.

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