Couple are held hostage by armed robbers.

Byline: By Steve Johnson 

ARMED raiders fled with thousands of pounds after ambushing a prominent businessman and holding him and his wife hostage in their Black Country home.

The masked gunmen ambushed the elderly shopkeeper - who is battling throat cancer - on his doorstep and frog-marched him indoors.

They threatened to shoot him before tying him and his wife up and ransacking the house in a search for cash and valuables.

The panic-stricken 65-year-old woman was struggling to breathe and they cut her free before her 66-year-old husband, who recently broke his arm, managed to press a panic button.

The robbers fled towards the Scott Arms leaving the Newton Road, unhurt but badly shaken. The well-known businessman, who runs a shop in Walsall's Saddlers Centre, today spoke of his horrific ordeal.

The man, who asked not to be named, said he was leaving the house for work at 7am yesterday when the two balaclava-clad men "came out of nowhere".

He said: "I couldn't see their faces but one of them thrust a gun into my face and threatened to pull the trigger if I didn't do as he said.

"They tied me and my wife to chairs and grabbed a bag containing several thousand pounds in takings. They tried to rip a ring off my finger and also took a gold bracelet off my wrist.

"My wife was feeling ill and they cut her free just as I managed to get to the burglar alarm panic button. One of the men saw me press it, shouted to his mate and they legged it."

"Me and the wife are still shaking thinking about what happened," said the businessman, who has two grown-up children, three grandchildren and a great-grandson.

Three years ago he had had his car stolen off his drive, and more recently someone tried to hijack his vehicle. Last week bogus callers had targeted their home.

Det Sgt Sam Jones, of West Bromwich CID, said it was a "traumatic experience" for the couple and appealed for information.

She added: "We haven't got much of a description but we believe one of the robbers was West Indian. Anyone who saw anything suspicious in the Newton Road and Scott Arms area at about 7am yesterday can contact us on 0845 1135000.