An elderly couple were bound and gagged in their beds while two men ransacked their Cleckheaton home.

Myra and Edward Warren were tied up in the bedroom of their Church Lane home by two men who then stole money and personal items.

Mrs Warren, 65, had to dial 999 with her thumb because she could not untie herself and the couple were freed when police arrived a short time later.

She suffered bruising to her wrists where she had been bound, and also to her rib cage. Mr Warren, 75, suffered bruising to his face including a black eye. Both required hospital treatment following the incident at 3am yesterday.

The couple were left deeply shocked by the incident and Mr Warren, still visibly shaken, was too ill to speak at a press conference yesterday. Mrs Warren said she was "absolutely petrified" throughout the ordeal and devastated at the affect it had had on her husband.

"Look at my husband and you will know how I feel - devastated," she said. "Animals would behave better than what they did.

"We weren't tied up for more than ten minutes but it was a long ten minutes. I was just woken up by somebody putting their hand over my mouth. I thought I was having a nightmare. He said 'Keep quiet and you'll not get hurt' and that was it."

She said she didn't have time to think about what was happening but her first instinct was to keep still. "I was afraid for my life and my husband's. You just think the worst."

She urged people with information to contact the police so nobody else would have to go through the same ordeal.

The men were described as being in their 30s, of heavy build, wearing dark clothing and speaking with Yorkshire accents. One had straight hair in a chin-length bob.

Detective Inspector John Birkenshaw who is leading the hunt for the two men described the crime as "despicable" and urged anyone with information to contact the police.

"This was a particularly nasty and heartless attack on two elderly and defenceless people in their own home in the middle of the night," he said.

"Someone, somewhere must have some information about this incident. Luckily such incidents are extremely rare and we'd like to reassure people we are doing all we can to bring these men to justice."

Anyone with information should contact Dewsbury police on (01924) 431059 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Calls will be dealt with in the strictest confidence.