Elderly couple hurt as knifeman invades their home

A COUPLE in their 80s were both injured by a knife-wielding thug during what police described as a “terrifying” attempted robbery.

The husband and wife were sat in the lounge of their home in Withington when they heard a knock on their door just after 10pm on Friday.

They answered the door to a man demanding cash, and brandishing an eight-inch kitchen knife. The thug forced his way into the house in Thurlwood Avenue before the couple managed to push him back outside and lock the door.

The woman suffered a cut to her foot and the man suffered cuts to his arms.

The injuries are believed to have been caused during the scuffle and not by the weapon.

The offender is described as white, between 35-40 years old, around 5ft 9ins tall, of medium build, unshaven with stubble and was wearing all dark clothing with a dark coloured hood.

Det Con Luke Raine, of GMP’s City of Manchester Division, said: “This was a terrifying burglary targeting two elderly members of our community.

“Through their remarkable bravery, they have managed to fight off the assailant and he fled empty handed.

“We would urge anyone with information on this to contact police immediately. Perhaps you saw someone matching the description of the offender in the vicinity at the time?

“Even the smallest detail can lead to new lines of enquiry that may help us identify the offender.”

Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 6012 quoting incident number 2377 of 05/10/18 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.