Pensioner left fearing for his life when masked thug tied him up and battered with a hammer.

This is the battered face of a defenceless pensioner who was left fearing for his life after a masked thug tied him up and repeatedly hit him over the head with a hammer. Grandfather Ian McCann, 83, heard a crash at the back door of his home just after 7am on Sunday (19/1). But when he went to investigate he was confronted by a man in a balaclava who had broken into his terraced house by smashing a window and picking the lock. The robber then pushed terrified Mr McCann onto a sofa and ripped the telephone off the wall. Horrifyingly the robber then used the telephone cord to tie the pensioner's hands behind his back. But Mr McCann's ordeal was not over as the callous thug demanded money and when he wasn't given it he hit the pensioner repeatedly over the head with a hammer. He then stole £60 from his wallet, took Mr McCann's debit card and demanded the pin number before threatening to kill Mr McCann's pet chihuahua dog, Double, if it did not stop barking. The robber put two cushions over Mr McCann's face and ran of the house through the back door.