A MOTHER of three whose arm was broken in two places when armed raiders stormed into her home may never fully recover from the attack.

Shamim Patel, aged 43, screamed when the four men, wearing balaclavas, burst into her home earlier this month.

One robber twisted her right arm behind her back, breaking it in two places, and pinned her to the floor, hitting her several times, while his accomplices ransacked the house.

Mrs Patel spent four days in the Royal Bolton Hospital and is now recovering after surgeons had to insert a metal plate in her arm.

But doctors have told her she may never be able to fully extend her arm and she will need extensive physiotherapy when her injury heals.

Mrs Patel's son, Zakir, aged 21, said: "My mum is getting better. They have said she might not get the full extension back in her arm, but it's more in the mind.

"She is still quite traumatised and feels scared in her own home. We have all come together as a family and we are dealing with it.

"We are really careful who we open the door to and we spend a lot of time with our family who live on the same street".

Mrs Patel lives in High Street, Great Lever, with her husband Yunus, aged 47, and Zakir's brothers Zahid and Ubaid, aged 17 and nine.

She answered a knock at the door on Thursday, March 1, at around 7pm when the gang forced their way in.

Three robbers ransacked her family home, looking for cash, while she was held on the floor, screaming in agony.

It is thought the men may have been carrying tyre irons or crowbars.

Family members, who live next door, ran round to find out what was happening after hearing noise.

The gang had fled with more than £2,000 and the family's passports before Mrs Patel's family could help.

They saw the gang get into a black BMW 7 series car and drive away.

The family had been saving the money to buy a car for Zakir.

It was the second time their home had been targeted by armed robbers. A gang, wearing balaclavas and one of them carrying a handgun, tried to get into their house six weeks earlier.

But the house was full of family members, who managed to block the door and stop them from getting in.

Three of the men were white and one was black.

Anyone who may have seen anything is asked to call Bolton robbery unit on 0161 856 5645, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.