'Burglars held a knife to my Nana's throat'

A grandmother said she had "never been so scared in all my life" when burglars burst into her house and held a knife to her throat.

Stella Kelly, 71, was left with extensive bruising when her home in Oldham, Greater Manchester, was raided by three men demanding money and drugs at 10:13 GMT on 17 February.

Mrs Kelly told the BBC one of them even went through her late husband Gerry's belongings.

Her granddaughter, Donna Molloy, said: "She refuses to leave because it's her home, but they violated that, they violated her home, my grandad's memories."

Appealing for information, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said no arrests had yet been made.

Mrs Kelly said she initially thought the raid on her Woodend Street home was a "joke" after two of the burglars rushed into the living room.

She said she demanded: "What the hell are you playing at?"

Mrs Kelly said one of the men told her "I'm not afraid of stabbing you" and ordered her to wait while the third suspect ran upstairs and searched for valuables.

He returned and began demanding to know where the "money and the drugs" were.

The 71-year-old said she only had her prescription medication.

She continued: "He looked on the table and picked my phone up and then he turned round and put a knife to my throat.

"He says 'We're not afraid of nothing - I'll kill you if you don't tell us where it is'."

She said one of the other raiders was "knocking and pushing me" as she was interrogated, leaving her with bruises up her arm.

Mrs Kelly, who lost her husband in 2019, also showed the BBC how one of the men had pressed the blade of a knife hard against the back of her left hand.

While it did not pierce the skin, it caused deep bruising and swelling.

Eventually, the three men grabbed her phone and escaped.

Ever since the burglary, Mrs Kelly said she had struggled to sleep and that her memories of her home being invaded "come out of the blue".

Mrs Kelly said: "It was so scary because nobody was there and I couldn't do nothing.

"You know when you're not in control? You don't know what the person's going to do."

Speaking through tears, her 33-year-old granddaughter said: "The neighbours love her, everybody loves her.

"She's always out there for everybody and she is literally the best Nana."

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