A COUPLE were subjected to a violent robbery at their Helmshore pub, after four armed raiders broke in and locked them in the cellar.

Jessica Lloyd, 25, and her fiance Matthew Sykes, 25, were forced to crawl out of the cellar drop at The White Horse Pub, the doors used by the brewery during a stock delivery, to reach help at a neighbour’s house.

Landlady Jessica, has been running the Helmshore Road pub for 17 months. She said: “We were in bed asleep when four men with balaclavas on, carrying a cricket bat and an axe burst into our bedroom demanding money.

“They made us get up and take them to the safe before locking us in the cellar. At the time it all seemed surreal but looking back now we were so lucky they didn’t hurt us. All we wanted to do was get out, we climbed out of the cellar drop and ran as fast as we could to a neighbour’s house, who just couldn’t believe what had happened.”

The couple, left shaken by the incident, then alerted police who have now launched an inve-stigation.

A police spokesman said: “Between 2am and 2.40am on April 10, armed robbers broke into The White Horse Pub armed with either a cricket bat or wooden post, through a window.

“They then demanded money before escaping through the kitchen door at the back of the property.

“We have now launched an investigation, we are checking CCTV footage and we are conducting door to door inq-uiries.

“Anyone who witnessed anything suspicious should call police on 101.”

Jessica added: “We realise just how lucky we are to escape the incident without injury, so we are going to hold a charity cops and robbers themed event to raise money for Victims’ Voice.

“We have not yet set a date but we feel this charity is really important as it helps victims of crime move on.”