A pensioner couple in Oldham were subjected to a terrifying ordeal when a burglar entered their bedroom and ordered them to consume a mysterious black liquid.
Maureen Parkisson, 79, was asleep beside her husband Roland at their Royton home when the intruder woke her by touching her shoulder at approximately 5am on Tuesday.
“I felt this hand on my shoulder, thinking it was Roland waking me up,” she told the Manchester Evening News.
“I saw his face, he had a hi-vis jacket on, he had gloves on and a hood. I said, ‘what do you want?!’ And he said ‘I’m working outside. I said, ‘at 5am in the morning? I don’t think so!'”.
The intruder was described as a “large” six-foot-tall black man with curly hair, wearing a Covid-style face mask and gloves.
He demanded the couple hand over their bank cards and drink a black substance he had brought with him.
He also threatened them with two breadknives taken from their own kitchen.
Roland said the man poured the liquid into a glass from the bedside table and told him to drink it.
The Parkissons were woken up in the dead of night at their home on Roman Road in Royton
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“He said to Roland: ‘This’ll make you sleep,'” Maureen recalled.
Roland tasted the substance but immediately spat it out.
The couple, married for 50 years, described the burglar as unusually composed throughout the incident and said he spoke softly while demanding their bank details and PIN numbers.
The hooded man appeared to be aged between 20 and 40.
“I keep seeing him, it keeps replaying in my head,” Roland said.
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Maureen added: “I just see his face all the time now, he was only a young chap.”
The grandmother said the pair now struggle to sleep at night.
“We’re still in shock, we take so long to go to bed now,” she said.
The couple have lived in their home since 1986 without any previous incidents.
“I’ve had a horrible year, I broke my hip, my daughter has been in hospital. I keep thinking when is it going to finish,” Maureen said.
Greater Manchester Police has confirmed it is investigating two aggravated burglaries in Royton including the Parkissons’ ordeal
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PA
Greater Manchester Police has confirmed it is investigating two aggravated burglaries in Royton which they believe are connected – including the Parkissons’ ordeal.
In the other incident, an 82-year-old man discovered an intruder hiding beneath his dining table at around 7.20pm.
The attacker overpowered the victim, struck him with his own walking stick, and tied his hands and ankles with cable before placing him in a cupboard.
The offender also inflicted a head wound using a knife and stole the victim’s wallet.
Detective Chief Inspector Zahid Latif from Oldham CID said: “We are taking this extremely seriously. Neighbourhood officers are carrying out increased patrols in the area.”