An elderly woman has been left terrified after heartless thugs broke into her home and robbed her pension money.

The 88-year-old, who lives in a rural part of Offaly with her middle-aged son, spoke of her fear after the shocking robbery.

While her son went out shopping on Wednesday evening, the thieves broke in just after 6pm and subjected the pensioner to a terrifying ordeal.

She said: "I was very frightened. They came out of nowhere. The front door and the back door were locked.

"They got in through the window. A man in a white cap had a screwdriver in his hand and he caught a hold of my wrist.

"They broke the door of my wardrobe. I said I wanted to go and get a drink of water but he wouldn't let me go."

The callous robbers rifled through envelopes and stole a small amount of cash from her pension before fleeing the scene, the Irish Independent reports.

Her son returned home shortly afterwards and found his mother in a terrified state with a bruise on her wrist.

The thieves entered through a window (Stock picture)

The upset victim said she "couldn't sleep that well after it happened".

Locals were outraged at the callous crime, with one man saying: "She's a very quiet woman. People are very angry.

"There are a lot of elderly people living in this area and they are all terrified by what happened.

"Only a few weeks ago, the house of a man in his seventies was ransacked while he was in hospital with cancer. They destroyed the place."

The robbery is the latest in a series of attacks on elderly people

Another local woman, aged 68, condemned the cruel robbery, saying: "Whoever did this deserves ten years' hard labour on bread and water.

"That lady is a very quiet woman who just goes to weekly Mass. She never did anything to anybody.

"The people are raging about what has happened."

The robbery is the latest in a series of recent attacks on elderly people.