Arrest after elderly victims knifed in Poulton homes

A man has been arrested after two elderly victims were knifed in "deplorable" attacks in their homes.

A 94-year-old man awoke to find the offender standing over him at his home in Poulton, Lancashire, on Monday night.

When he refused to hand over any money, he was slashed with a knife.

A similar earlier attack on an 89-year-old in the same town, six days earlier on 11 August, is believed to be linked, Lancashire Police said.

A man aged in his 30s from Blackpool has been arrested suspicion of robbery and is in custody.

'Obscene'

In the first attack, the 89-year-old victim was punched to the floor and slashed on his neck and arm, before the offender stole money.

He is recovering from his injuries, the force said.

The 94-year-old, who was was attacked at 22:20 BST, is in a stable condition at Royal Preston Hospital.

CCTV footage released by police shows an alleged intruder walking around the side of the 89-year-old man's house.

A spokesman for the force described the level of violence in the attacks as "obscene".

Det Insp Steve Harry added: "It's hard to imagine a more heartless, cowardly and despicable crime and detectives will leave no stone unturned in their efforts to find those responsible.

"I appeal to anyone with knowledge of the offence or the identity of the offenders to come forward."