MASKED raiders burst into a house before clubbing a couple with planks of wood and stealing a high-performance car.

Today detectives warned residents across Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale to be wary following a number of incidents where people have had their cars stolen after being followed home.

It is the latest warning of criminal gangs striking against high performance card drivers in the area in three months.

The robbery happened in Poplar Terrace, Rawtenstall, when three balaclava-clad men demanded the keys to a Audi A3 Sport Quattro.

When the couple, a man named as Richard Swift, 37, and his 24-year-old girlfriend resisted they were coshed.

The latest robbery happened at about 6.30pm on Sunday but police have only just released details.

The raiders arrived in a stolen blue Honda Civic which had been driven dangerously scouring Rawtenstall and Haslingden that afternoon looking for cars to steal, before fleeing in that and the £25,000 silver Audi, registration MT54 YYK.

Detective Inspector Derek Jones appealed for anyone with information about the robbery to come forward.

He said: "This was a nasty attack on two innocent people.

"We believe that the offenders were driving the blue Honda erratically through the streets of Rawtenstall and Haslingden during the afternoon prior to the robbery, looking for a vehicle to steal.

"One witness said they saw the vehicle being driven so dangerously that oncoming vehicles had to mount the pavement to avoid a head on collision."

The couple, were taken to Fairfield Hospital, Bury, following the incident with broken bones.

The woman is believed to be staying with relatives while the man was today still in hospital after undergoing surgery on his ankle.

Shortly after the robbery the Honda, registration M589 LBP, was found abandoned near the Air Training Cadets Centre, Burnley Road, Rawtenstall.

Police said it had been stolen about five days earlier in Bury.

DI Jones added: "I would also ask members of the public to be extra vigilant as there have been a couple of similar offences in Rawtenstall area recently where opportunist thieves have followed motorists to their home and stolen their cars."

Police are also probing an attempted robbery of a high performance car - also an Audi - from a house in Ewood Bridge, near Haslingden, at 7.15pm yesterday. A number of masked men attempted to break into a house but were unsuccessful and made off in a car believed to be a silver VW Golf.

DI Jones added: "Anyone who thinks they are being followed should not challenge the offenders and should drive directly to their local police station."

A neighbour who did not want to be named today spoke of her shock at the incident.

The woman said she heard a commotion and looked out of the window to see the man's girlfriend running down the street after the car.

She said: "They are a lovely couple and have been together for about a year.

"They really wanted the car with it being a specialist one.

"They must have come and sussed it out before. They must have been professionals."

The robbery comes two weeks after a gang of car thieves stole £40,000 worth of vehicles in Burnley over a weekend.

And in November Pendle police warned owners of luxury and high performance models such as Porches to install tracking devices after a gang travelled from Bradford to steal vehicles.

Sunday's raiders were described as white, in their 20's, wearing balaclavas, dark clothing and gloves.

Anyone with information should contact Rawtenstall CID on 01706 237443 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

oA man was in a serious but stable condition in hospital today after a stolen Audi A4 he was driving crashed into a roundabout and flipped on its roof.

The incident happened in Oldham on Monday night following the theft which took place in Haslingden over the weekend.

A passenger is thought to have run from the scene.