ROBBERS pushed a pensioner to the ground, held a knife to her throat and sprayed kitchen cleaner in her eyes during a terrifying robbery.

The victim, a 70-year-old woman, was getting ready to go out when a group of about five men used crowbars to force their way into her home in Whitmore Avenue.

Her daughter, who has asked to be kept anonymous, said: “My mum was in the hallway as she was getting ready to go out when she heard a noise in the kitchen.

“As she looked round men came running into the house.

“Two of them grabbed her and one put his hand over her mouth so she couldn’t scream and they pushed her to the floor.

“The one holding her face put a knife to her neck and said something like “Give me gold and money”, while the one holding her hand took all her jewellery off.”

Some of the men ran upstairs and broke into a locked metal cupboard before stealing gold jewellery and £3,000 cash, which the woman had drawn out to pay for a new fence.

But the woman’s ordeal was not yet over.

Her daughter said: “They came running downstairs and went into the kitchen but one of them came back with a kitchen cleaner and sprayed her eyes so she couldn’t see them and to delay her calling for help.”

Once the men had gone the woman managed to alert a neighbour who called an ambulance after the attack, which happened at 9.50am on Wednesday, April 20.

Her daughter, who has been devastated by the attack on her mum, has urged people to be aware of what happened in the hope of preventing anyone else suffering the same ordeal.

She said: “Mum is really lucky she didn’t have any burns from the bleach but she’s now really frightened.

“She won’t stay in the house on her own and keeps saying to my dad if you go out I’m coming with you.

“It would have been bad enough if they were burgled, but they have attacked her.

“It’s awful to think about what they did to her, I couldn’t sleep all night.

“We just really want people to be aware that this has happened and to be vigilant.

“We don’t want it happening to anyone else.”

Police are investigating. An Essex Police spokesman said: “The suspects made off on foot across William Edwards School field before getting into a red hatchback car waiting in Blackshots Lane.

“Anyone with any information is asked to contact Grays CID on 101.”