Hundreds of irreplaceable photos of an elderly widower's late wife were stolen during a terrifying late night raid on his home.

Bolton Crown Court heard how 79-year-old widower Robert Gledhill spotted a light on in the spare room of his home at 3am on October 12.

He had woken to use the bathroom at the Breightmet bungalow, where he has lived alone since the death of his wife four years ago.

Alison Mather, prosecuting, told the court that the pensioner then came face to face with 38-year-old Charlotte Mason, who pushed past him and fled.

A startled Mr Gledhill found the living room window had been smashed, a £200 Samsung tablet had been taken from his office and a drawer containing his late wife’s jewellery had been disturbed.

Two wallets, containing bank cards and £110 in cash, had also been taken from his bedside table.

He later found that his laptop was gone. It contained “hundreds of irreplaceable pictures” of his late wife.

In a statement, Mr Gledhill said he had been left “disturbed and violated” by the burglary.

He said: “The fact that my home, the place where I sleep, had been invaded in the dead of night by a stranger, still worries me. My home is the one place I’m supposed to feel safe. But I no longer feel safe here.

“I keep asking myself, what if I had woken up a minute earlier and caught her sneaking around my bed in the dark? It doesn’t bear thinking about.

“I feel violated and afraid now and the home I shared with my wife for 30 years no longer feel’s like my home anymore.

“The fact that she crept about my home and rifled through my things is more upsetting than the loss of any possessions. I don’t know this woman but I feel she knows everything about me.”

Mason, of Savick Avenue, Breightmet, was arrested the next day after trying to buy cigarettes at a petrol station with one of the stolen bank cards.

The court heard that mum-of-two Mason, who pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, has a criminal record for burglaries and thefts from elderly people.

Rosalind Emsley-Smith, defending, stated that Mason had been “coaxed” into committing the crime by an “abusive and controlling” ex-partner and is remorseful.

She said: “Charlotte is a bright, intelligent woman, who has real insights into her status as a victim. She is vulnerable and feels she has been prevented from improving her status due to an unhealthy relationship. She realises this is a serious offence but maintains she was coerced by her partner.”

Sentencing Mason to two years in jail, Judge Timothy Stead said that her history of targeting elderly victims must be taken into consideration. “The fact that the occupier was at home at the time of the offence, in the middle of the night, are aggravating features," he said.