A man in his 80s and his sister in her 70s were tied up and threatened during a robbery in Co Antrim last night.
The man and woman were told their house would be burnt down if they did not hand over cash to three armed and masked men in the attack in the Ballyskeagh Road area of Dunmurray.
"The man and woman were sitting in their kitchen when they were confronted by three masked males", a police spokesman said. One of the men was armed with a crowbar.
They were tied up while the raiders ransacked their house and eventually left with a sum of cash. The woman was taken to hospital for treatment after the alarm was raised.
The three men were said to be in their early 20s, around five feet, ten inches in height and spoke with local accents.
Inspector Jim McGrillen, the officer leading the investigation said: "They threatened if they didn't hand over money they would burn the house down with them in it. They then spent an hour ransacking the house, moving from room to room within the house, and then left leaving the couple tied up."
Mr McGrillen described the attack as "totally despicable."
SDLP Assembly Member Patricia Lewsley called for panic buttons to be fitted in pensioners' homes. The Lagan Valley representative also demanded tougher sentences for those who prey on the vulnerable. "
There have been far too many attacks of elder members of our community," she said. "We need stronger deterrents to stop these vicious perpetrators. We need just sentences to fit these horrendous crimes."