PSNI officers were today hunting an armed gang who imprisoned an elderly couple for over fourteen hours without light and heat while robbing their isolated farmhouse.
The gang of eight men forced their way into the house in the Caledon Road area of Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone, at around 2 a.m. yesterday.
The elderly man was threatened at knifepoint before the house was ransacked.
The gang cut off the electricity and locked the couple in the home before making off with a small amount of cash.
A nephew of the couple who called to the house later found them in a very traumatised state.
Inspector Alwyn Barton of the PSNI said the victims were terrified, and urged anyone with information about the attack to contact police.
"They physically and mentally abused this elderly couple," he said."This is a callous and brutal attack, anyone who knows anything about it must question their conscience and must lift the phone and ring."
PA