An armed robber who held three people hostage as he tried to steal jewellery worth £80,000 from a jeweller's home has been jailed for seven years.

Gary Peter Bates and a machete-wielding accomplice smashed their way into the home of a 70-year-old jeweller who was having an early Christmas dinner with his partner and another couple on December 15 last year.

Balaclava-clad Bates and his accomplice smashed the back window with a stone, Alan Bakker, prosecuting, told Bolton Crown Court.

They burst into the dining room of the house in The Haulgh, Bolton, where they held three of the four victims hostage and searched for valuables.

One of the guests resisted and was elbowed in the face.

The court heard that Bates, who had a baton, ordered the jeweller into another room where he kept his safe and forced him to empty the contents, while his accomplice kept watch over the guests.

But the jeweller began to complain of chest pains and said he thought he was having a heart attack.

One of the hostages hit a silent alarm that alerted police. The machete-wielding robber was at the front door when officers arrived but escaped through the back. He has not been found.

Officers caught Bates in the house with jewellery on him. Bates, aged 36, of Roscow Avenue, Breightmet, pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary.

Stephen Meadowcroft, defending, said Bates was a hardworking lorry driver who did not pose a danger to the public.

He said Bates met his accomplice "by chance" that night and was asked to take part in the raid.

Judge Steven Everett paid tribute to the bravery of the jeweller adding: "These people will never be able to sit down together without remembering what you put them through."