MASKED raiders, one brandishing a hammer and the other wearing a Tina Turner wig, spent 40 minutes searching an Accrington pub while the landlord lay upstairs in bed.

They struck at the Crown Inn on Whalley Road, which is leased to Accrington Stanley, after climbing over the back wall and getting in through an upstairs window.

Landlord Martyn Owen, 49, was not worried when he heard footsteps in the hall because his partner’s father, who had recently suffered a stroke, was staying with them and often found it difficult to settle.

He said: "I did hear noises in the hall but I didn’t think anything of it because we were so used to Tracey’s dad getting up in the night. It wasn’t until I saw the beam from a torch pass under the door and the door began to open that I realised something was wrong. But as quickly as it opened it shut and everything went quiet.

"Looking back now, we were really lucky. If the thieves had come into the bedroom and I had been forced to tackle them I might not be here now."

The raid was caught on the pub’s new hi-tech CCTV system.

Both the burglars were dressed in boiler suits and appeared to be wearing either a balaclava or stockings over their faces. The taller of the two men was wearing a Tina Turner-style wig while his accomplice was brandishing a hammer.

Despite a close search of the premises, they only got away with Mr Owen’s new blue Ford Ka and his Nintendo Wii control.

Police believe that once they left the pub the raiders headed towards the motorway or Great Harwood as they were not picked up on the CCTV in Accrington town centre.

Mr Owen and his partner of four years Tracey Treanor, 39, have only been in the pub three months and have already had a brush with death, narrowly missing being crushed after a tree fell into their beer garden back in May.

Mr Owen, who moved from The Duke of Wellington in Great Harwood, said: "I was mostly concerned about Tracey.

"I think the thieves were professionals because they made sure all the windows and doors were open for their getaway and they knew where all the cameras were."

A police spokesman said: "We can confirm an investigation into the incident is underway and we are appealing to anyone who has information to contact police on 0845 1253545."