GRANDMOTHER Mary Ellen Crank was stabbed to death in her home in a frenzied attack just hours after she had celebrated her birthday with her friends at bingo, police revealed today.

Mrs Crank, aged 76, lay dead in the kitchen of her house in Kingscourt Avenue, Brownlow Fold, for two days before her body was discovered.

The horrific discovery was made by neighbours on Sunday afternoon who were concerned about her safety and went to the house where they found the back door was unlocked. Detectives now believe Mrs Crank, known as Ellen, was killed on Friday night shortly after she arrived home.

A knife has been recovered in the house and they are trying to establish if it is the murder weapon.

The widow had taken homemade cakes and sandwiches to the Victory Community Centre in Chorley Old Road to celebrate her birthday, which had been the day before.

She played bingo until about 8pm before walking the short distance home with the leftovers from the party.

Detectives have refused to speculate whether she was followed home, or disturbed a burglar in the house. It is believed she may have walked along Chorley Old Road, before turning into Ivy Road and then into Kingscourt Avenue.

However, it is possible she walked from the community centre along a side street to Oxford Grove, on to Hatfield Road, through the fields to Valletts Lane, left into Sunnybank Road, across Keighley Street and into Kingscourt Avenue.

Mrs Crank was seen at her house by a neighbour at around 9pm, which is the last sighting of her. It is believed she was killed soon after she arrived home.

A post mortem examination carried out by a Home Office pathologist has confirmed that the cause of death was multiple stab wounds.

Mrs Crank has a 45-year-old son who lives in Bolton, and three grandchildren, a 17-year-old boy and two girls aged 15 and 13, who now live in Australia. She had been a widow for almost eight years after her husband died following a long illness. She nursed him throughout.

Det Supt Simon Barraclough, who is leading the murder investigation, said: "This was an horrific attack on a lovely lady. It was a frenzied and sustained attack. She sustained a number of different stab and slash wounds.

"We are still trying to establish a motive and it is vital that anyone who may have seen Mrs Crank on Friday evening, or has information about her murder, comes forward.

"We are following a number of lines of inquiry. One is that she may have been killed during a robbery, but it is too soon to say for certain. It is possible she may have been followed home or there was a robbery or burglary that went wrong.

"It is likely that whoever killed Mrs Crank had blood on their clothing when they left her house. There is no suggestion she won money at the bingo -- it was a case of a group of friends enjoying a night out.

"Her family are absolutely devastated and through me, they are appealing for anyone with information to come forward to help solve this despicable and terrible Crime.

"Mrs Crank was a delightful lady. She was very popular and always stopped to talk to people. She was very close to her family.

"I appeal to anyone who saw or or heard anyone who was bloodstained on Friday night, especially in the Bolton area, to come forward, or if they saw anyone acting in a suspicious way."

Detectives are studying CCTV footage in the area. A forensic team is expected to be at the property carrying out a fingertip search until next week to see if anything has been stolen. Anyone with information should contact the incident room on 0161 856 5153, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.