A PENSIONER who was shoved headfirst down a flight of stairs when she interrupted a raid on her home in Brierfield could have been killed, police said today.

And the daughter of Dorothy Hodgson said she was scared the heinous' burglars who sent the 74-year-old crashing down the stairs of her Brierfield home could strike again.

Police also fear they could have been dealing with a murder investigation.

Mrs Hodgson, a former nurse who still volunteers for St John Ambulance, had to have 30 stitches in her lip, chin and head following the incident which happened just after 12.10am yesterday.

Her daughter, Kathryn Nixon, 48, of Barden Lane, Burnley, appealed for people to come forward with information to catch the attackers before they did the same to anybody else.

She said: "It is frightening to think some people out there would do something like that.

"Until they catch them there is a chance they will do it again. She could have been killed.

"I am just glad the ambulance men warned me she was a mess. She looked a mess when I saw her."

Mrs Hodgson was downstairs when she heard a noise upstairs.

She went to investigate what it was and was confronted by two men believed to be in their 20s.

In the struggle they pushed the pensioner down seven steps.

Mrs Nixon said her mother joined Burnley General Hospital, where she was taken yesterday, in 1945 as a nurse before becoming a midwife. She also worked at the old Reedyford Hospital.

She had also volunteered as a nurse overseas working in Israel and had met the Pope on a trip to Rome.

Last year Mrs Hodgson was commended by the St John Ambulance for working 465 hours as a volunteer.

Her work included covering for football matches including Burnley homes games.

Mrs Nixon said: "She has always done nursing all her life.

"She has done voluntary nursing in Israel and being to Rome with the St John Ambulance and met the Pope.

"She has been in the St John Ambulance for 32 years and does a lot of voluntary work despite her age. She is very independent.

"She goes to the football all the time, she loves football, she loves Burnley.

"She will probably be at their next game despite her face being all marked."

Police believes the raiders were in the area in the hours leading up to the incident.

Det Insp Derek Jones appealed for people walking home from the pub, or drivers who may have seen some-thing, to contact the police.

He said: "They pushed the lady from behind and she went head first down the stairs.

"She has gone head first and there is like a dog leg halfway down and she has hit her head on that. There is still a mark there.

"We are lucky we are not dealing with a murder.

"This was a disgusting incident.

"If this had been a frail lady who would not have been able to get to her feet it could have been a murder investigation.

"The lady has been left with significant injuries to her face and head and she has been extremely shaken by this heinous incident."

Contact Nelson CID on 01282 425001 or Crimestoppers free and anonymously on 0800 555 111.