A WEALTHY haulage boss was hit over the head with a hammer when he was woken by thieves in an early morning raid.

Businessman Mark Schofield was left covered in blood after being attacked by three masked robbers who stole £75,000 worth of his belongings, police said.

The 57-year-old of Greens Arms Road, Turton, had been asleep when the gang burst into his upstairs bedroom shortly after 4.30am yesterday.

The balaclava-clad men managed to steal two Rolex watches worth up to £30,000, a diamond ring, a Louis Vuitton handbag and the couple’s 2006 Porsche Cayenne, police said.

Around 30 officers attended the incident and crime scene investigators spent all day searching the area for clues.

Mark, a director of MS Transport, Bolton, said he had heard a noise at 4am but had drifted back to sleep.

He said: “I thought I heard footsteps and then all of a sudden the bedroom door burst open.

“It was pitch black and then there was this almighty roar.

“Three men wearing balaclavas came over to my side and switched the lights on.

“One of them had a hammer.

“I sat up and tried to grab one of them and with his left hand, he swung out with the hammer.

“I wasn’t knocked out, but it did knock me back.”

Mark’s partner Sue Evans, 58, said: “It was awful, we were petrified.

“It was terrifying to wake up and have three masked men over us and shouting at us.

“I could hear Mark’s head smash and there was blood everywhere. He could have been killed.

“I got out of bed and kept pressing the panic button to our alarm.

“One of the men put the hammer on my hand and he took the Rolex off my wrist.”

The gang then continued searching the bedroom for more valuables before running back down the stairs and out of the back door of the detached property.

Detectives investigating the incident said the burglary had been a ‘frightening ordeal’ for the unsuspecting couple.

DS Marc Saunders, of Blackburn CID, said: “This was a nasty and unprovoked attack on a couple while they were sleeping.

“They were lucky. Incidents like this can sometime be life threatening.

“I appeal for anyone who saw anything suspicious in Turton in the days leading up to the burglary to come forward.”

Police said the burglars had arrived at the scene in a blue Ford Fiesta which was later recovered at the junction of High Street and Chapel Grange in nearby Chapelown.

DS Saunders said: “We believe the Ford Fiesta had been stolen from outside an address in Lightbounds Street in Bolton around 7pm the night before the burglary.

“Following a search of the area officers recovered the vehicle about half a mile away and the engine was still running.

“We believe the vehicle had been abandoned by the thieves who left the scene in the Porsche Cayenne.

“I appeal for anyone who saw the Fiesta in the area in the hours before or after the burglary to contact police.”

Anyone with information should call police on 101.