By RACHEL SPENCER

THREE masked raiders tied up a couple in their home and subjected them to a terrifying ordeal on Monday night.

Clad in balaclavas and dark clothing, they burst into the couple's detached home in rural Appleton at 9.30pm and confronted the husband and wife, who are both aged in their 60s, as they watched TV.

They tied up the couple then ransacked their home and stole jewellery and cash, before running out of the back door and driving off in the couple's green Range Rover.

Police found the car abandoned a short time later outside the BUPA hospital on Fir Tree Close on the A49 at Stretton.

Det Insp John Chapman of Warrington CID, who is leading the inquiry, said: "This was a very violent and distressful incident for the couple, in which a substantial amount of jewellery, much of which is of sentimental value, was stolen.

"They are coping remarkably well considering the nature of the offence, but understandably, they are still extremely shaken."

Police are keen to speak to anyone who saw the three men enter or leave the home, and drivers or passers-by who saw the men dumping the Range Rover, which was left with its lights on outside the hospital between 9.45pm and 10pm.

DI Chapman added: "We would like to hear from anyone who may have seen a vehicle in Appleton at that time which would have been driving at speed, or the exchange of the vehicle at the BUPA hospital.

"I would imagine that they have hurriedly fled and got into another vehicle which has stopped there. Due to the location, I would think they have gone on to the M56."

Two of the men are white, one is 5ft 10in and another is 5ft 4in. The couple have not been able to describe the third man.

Anyone with information can call detectives on 01244 613833.