A GRANDMOTHER was left traumatised when three knife-wielding attackers burst into the house where she was babysitting two young children.

The woman was looking after her grandchildren at the property in Redruth Street, in the Whittlefield area of Burnley, when the men walked in through the back door and into the kitchen with the weapons.

The victim, who was left so terrified by the incident that she did not want to be named, said one of the men told her she would not get hurt if she told him where the drugs were.

The 49-year-old said she told the attackers she had no idea what they were talking about and pleaded with them not to hurt the two children, aged one and six, who were sleeping upstairs.

She said: “It was an absolutely shocking experience and I was absolutely terrified.

“I was screaming at them because the kids were upstairs. I would have put myself in front of them before they got up the stairs to them.”

Police think the gang targeted the wrong house.

The victim said her ordeal began when she heard a noise at around 11pm and thought it must have been her daughter and son-in-law coming back home from the Manchester Children’s Hospital, where their 15-week-old baby, who was born prematurely, is being cared for.

She said: “I heard voices and I thought it was them coming back from the hospital.

“I looked round and I saw three men. They were waving knives at me telling me to stay calm and to sit down and if I did, I would not get hurt.

“They were not normal kitchen knives, they were absolutely massive like ornamental knives. Each one was different.

“I just thought to myself that they could do some serious, serious damage.

“The men said they wanted drugs, but I did not have any drugs and neither do my daughter or son-in-law.

“I was pleading with them to stop it. When they started to go upstairs, that’s when I stood up and started screaming at them.”

The grandmother said the men realised they must have been in the wrong house and fled.

She said: “I am so glad the kids did not wake up.

“It was unbelievable and an absolute nightmare. It worked out that the whole thing only lasted a couple of minutes, but it felt like a lifetime.

“My daughter and my son-in-law were absolutely shocked as well. They were terrified because they were on their way back from the hospital and came home to a house full of police and paramedics.”

Nobody was injured in the incident, although an ambulance was called as the victim suffers from a heart condition.

She said she was now scared to leave her home in Nelson.

The woman added: “I do not want to be on my own. I know it happened in Burnley, but somebody might recognise me in the street.

“It has left me really nervous to go out.”

An investigation has been launched and police are appealing for anybody with information to report it.

The attackers were all described as being white men. The first was said to be in his late teens or early 20s, around 5ft 9ins tall, of slim build with short brown hair. He spoke with a local accent.

The second man was described as being older and taller than the first, with short brown hair.

The third man was thought to be 5ft 9ins tall and of a broad build.

Det Sgt Alisa Wilson said: “Despite the woman being physically unhurt and at no point was she threatened, this was a traumatic incident for her and the occupants of the house who have all been left very shaken. “I am particularly interested in anyone who saw the offenders loitering in the area or who may have witnessed the men entering the property to contact us.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting log 1153 of January 7.

Alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org