A courageous elderly couple managed to fight off a gang of armed robbers who brutally attacked them in their Bradford home.

John Stratford answered the door of his Thorpe Edge flat last night to find three men, all wielding weapons and with their faces covered, standing on his doorstep.

Mr Stratford said: "One of them punched me in the face and then bundled me backwards through the hallway into the front room."

There, he and his wife, Liese Lotte, were forced on to the settee while the gang threatened them and demanded cash.

Police said the gang struck at the property in Haigh Beck View at around 7.30pm yesterday after arriving in a stolen car.

"They kept shouting: 'where is the money?' as if we kept some in the flat which we didn't," said Mr Stratford.

The couple, both aged 73, managed to struggle to their feet but one of the attackers swung a baseball bat at Mrs Straford's head knocking her back on to the seat.

Mr Stratford said: "I put my arms across her face to try to protect her and they hit me there.

"Then they sprayed her in the face with something because she was screaming as loud as she could for help."

As the men searched the flat for valuables, Mrs Stratford, managed to crawl off the sofa and grab a nearby umbrella.

"She went at them with it, trying to hit them and they backed off."

But one of the thugs lashed out and punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground.

"I carried on screaming as loud as I could. Apparently it could be heard in a nearby building where they were playing bingo," Mrs Stratford said.

Knowing that help would be on its way, the gang fled from the scene in a stolen getaway car.

The couple both received hospital treatment although their injuries were not serious.

Detective Inspector George Marshall, of Bradford North CID, said: "This was a very nasty attack where extreme force was used in this couple's own home.

"We are very keen to catch those responsible."

He said the gang made off in a silver Audi, registration M8 CGB and appealed for information on its whereabouts.

Anyone with information should call Bradford North Police on 01274 376059.