A PENSIONER and her son were bound and gagged by a gang of armed robbers who raided their home.

The 66-year-old woman was tied up and her two sons badly beaten when the masked gang of four, armed with a shotgun, barged into the house in Tennyson Road, Farnworth, at around 10pm on Wednesday.

The woman, who was home alone while her sons were working at their Rusholme curry restaurant, was bound and gagged as the robbers ransacked the house.

Her 32-year-old son then returned home to find the gang and was hit over the head with the butt of the gun and also tied up.

The second son, aged 36, then returned home in the middle of the robbery and was punched in the face by one of the men as the gang fled the scene.

Detectives said they escaped with a "significant amount" of cash and jewellery.

The gang ran down Buckley Lane and over the M61 motorway bridge towards Little Hulton. The 32-year-old man had to spend the night at The Royal Bolton Hospital where he received stitches to a gash in his head. His 36-year-old brother received treatment for a fractured jaw.

The 66-year-old woman suffered an asthma attack and shock during the robbery but did not require hospital treatment.

Detective Inspector Paul Hitchen, from Bolton CID, said: "This was a terrifying attack on an elderly woman and her sons in their own home, which resulted in the men sustaining serious injuries.

"The gang escaped on foot and we hope that people will have seen them. I would appeal for anybody who believes they may have witnessed this robbery or seen the men to get in touch with us as soon as possible."

It is believed that all four of the men were black, were wearing dark clothes and balaclavas.

Anybody with information is asked to call Bolton CID on 0161 856 5740, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.