Pensioner injured in hammer attack

A PENSIONER has been hit over the head with a hammer by a masked intruder who terrorised him in his home.

Gardaí yesterday appealed for witnesses to what they describe as “a despicable crime which could have had very serious consequences for the man, aged in his late 70s.”

The owner of the house, in Cork city’s Greenmount Crescent, woke to find the masked raider in his bedroom at approximately 1.20am on Saturday.

The intruder threatened the pensioner with a hammer and demanded money.

When the elderly man initially refused to hand over cash, he was struck on the head with a hammer.

It is believed the victim ducked and the blow glanced off the side of his head, otherwise he could have been very seriously, if not fatally, injured.

With blood pouring from the wound, the elderly man was dragged downstairs to where the intruder believed money was hidden.

The masked man then forced the pensioner to hand over a sum of cash and fled.

“The intruder got in through a back door and we believe he left the same way. He made his way through a number of back gardens towards St Finbarr’s Terrace,” a garda spokesman said.

Detectives believe that the robber was in the house for approximately five minutes.

They said he is between 5ft 5in and 5ft 7in tall. He was described as being of small build and wearing a navy-coloured track suit.

He spoke with a strong Cork accent and is probably in his late teens or 20s.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Anglesea Street Garda station at 021 4522000 or Barrack Street Garda station at 021 4327497.