NEIGHBOURS of a pensioner who was held down while thieves robbed her home say it would never have happened if Bolton Council had installed better security gates.

Two burglars grabbed the 67-year-old woman's face and covered her mouth at her flat in Laburnum Grove, Horwich, at tea-time on Wednesday.

They held her down on the couch and stole property and cash after climbing in through a window.

Then they ran outside and smashed through a 62-year-old man's front door. Luckily he was not at home but he returned later to find his flat had been ransacked.

Residents in neighbouring flats say they have been campaigning to have CCTV cameras and better security gates installed.

Two sets of iron gates were erected by Bolton Council in October but residents say they have not been fitted with locks and, even if they were locked, thieves could easily climb over the top.

One resident said: "The bars on the gates make the flats look like a prison but we are far from secure. We don't want padlocks on the gates because we might get locked in if there was a fire.

"We should have a proper intercom lock system and CCTV cameras. The attack on our neighbour would not have happened if these had been installed."

She added: "We don't feel safe walking into our homes at night. It's not safe. Anybody could be waiting in the dark. We can't go on living in fear like this."

Another pensioner said he could not sleep because he fears being attacked. He stays awake until the early hours of the morning and keeps watch from a window.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: "The council has been discussing the security of Laburnum Grove with the residents and, as a result, a security fence a key operated metal gate have already been installed. These discussions are ongoing to determine what further action may be required."

He said that since the incident repairs had been carried out.