A MOTHER and son were ambushed by robbers as they sat in a car outside their home.

Police said the woman in her 70s, a local businesswoman, and her son, in his mid-40s, were left ‘severely shaken’ after the attack at the back of King Street, Whalley.

Detectives said they believed the incident was ‘pre-planned and organised’ and the victims had been followed ‘in recent days’.

The victims had just arrived at the back of the house at 6.20pm on Thursday when a man opened a rear door of the pair’s red Mazda car and reached into the back of the vehicle.

Police said he ‘forcibly’ took items from the couple.

He made off with a black Nike bag, a laptop, a Sony PSP console, a small black handbag with tassels and a ‘substantial’ quantity of money, police said.

Detectives said he ran up a nearby alleyway to a road called the Grove, where he joined an accomplice on a motorbike.

Detective Sergeant Nigel Watson, of Clitheroe CID, said: “This was an orchestrated and well-planned attack.

“It is quite likely these offenders have been watching the victim’s movements in recent days.”

The robber in the car is described as a white man, possibly with a tanned complexion, and in his early 20s. He was of stocky build with short dark hair.

He was wearing a blue top with white writing in a box with dark jeans and trainers.

The man on the motorcycle was white, aged about 23 to 25 and was wearing dark-coloured clothing.