A BLIND 92-year-old widow has told how she was pinned down while callous thugs ransacked her home and stole her Christmas money.

Enid Saint lost £350 in the terrifying ordeal - money that she had set aside to give to her family, including her two great-grandchildren, at Christmas.

The shocking burglary, carried out by four men, took place between 4.30pm and 5.30pm on Monday at Mrs Saint's bungalow in Byfleet Avenue.

Mrs Saint, who is registered blind but has partial sight in her left eye, told The Gazette that she went to open her front door after hearing scratching and then male voices outside her home.

She said: "I thought I would open the door a little way so I could see. I did not have chance to open it really because as soon as I loosened the knob that locks the door, four men pushed the door open.

"One of them took hold of my wrists and pushed me back into my sitting room and down on to the settee and did not let go."

Mrs Saint believes she was held down for 15 minutes, while the other gang members ransacked her bedroom, tipping drawers on to her bed and floor.

The pensioner said the man holding her was very aggressive, asking her where she kept her money and if she had any drugs in the house.

She said: "To be honest, I was terrified. I kept thinking this only happens on the television, it does not really happen. I have been shaking ever since. I cannot keep still."

Mrs Saint, who suffers from angina, said that the men finally left when she told them about her condition. By then, they had taken the money from three purses in her bedroom. After the gang had fled, Mrs Saint called the police.

Her daughter Katherine Jones, 60, is now looking after her mother. She said: "I was absolutely horrified and very frightened when I heard what had happened, because I know she has got angina and I could see her having a heart attack. It is unbelievable that people could be that evil."

Mrs Saint's neighbours have reacted with anger and disgust at the crime.

Alan Martin-Dye (ok), 62, of Byfleet Avenue, said: "It's absolutely abominable - she's a defenceless old lady. The most crime we normally get around here is a garage theft because it is a very quiet, peaceful village."

The police have appealed for witnesses, particularly people caught in rush-hour traffic on Byfleet Avenue on Monday evening.

Detective Constable Tim Chappell, of the Basingstoke Priority Crime Unit, said: "This was a despicable crime committed by a cowardly group of men who have targeted an elderly member of the community.

"People who commit these kinds of crime have no conscience and are the lowest of the low."

Anyone with information can contact Det Con Chappell, at Basingstoke police station, on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.