A WOMAN was robbed in the street after drawing out money from a cash machine in Burnley.

The 60-year-old had withdrawn money from a cash machine at One Stop in Colne Road.

Detectives said she walked along Barden Lane with the money in her hand when she was approached by two men.

One of them snatched the money from her hand and they ran off along Colne Road, police said.

The investigating officers are appealing for anyone with information to come forward. The robbery took place around 8.45pm on Tuesday.

DS Phil McGauley from Burnley CID said: “This is a despicable crime against a woman who had just visited a cash machine to access her own money.

“Someone must have seen something as this incident happened in the early morning when people would have been out and about. We are investigating this crime and I would ask that anyone who has any information about this incident, or who may have seen two males acting suspiciously in the vicinity at this time to get in touch.”

A spokesman for the police added that they are not able to release information about how much money was stolen for “investigative reasons”.

Both men have been described by police as white, 5ft 9ins and in their early twenties. Cllr Sue Graham, who represents the area on Burnley Council, said: “As ward councillor it’s an area that does not have a lot of crime.

“This is a terrible thing to have happened to somebody especially in the run up to Christmas. I hope that the lady is well and I also hope that anybody who did see these people who were involved come forward and give information to the police. This type of incident is very out of the ordinary for this area and it’s quote a safe ward.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police DS Phil McGauley on 01282 472511 or call 101 quoting incident reference 276 of November 24. Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111.