THE son of an elderly man hit on the head and electrocuted during a terrifying night time-robbery has called on the public to come forward to help catch the attackers that he describes as “scum”.

THE son of an elderly man hit on the head and electrocuted during a terrifying night time-robbery has called on the public to come forward to help catch the attackers that he describes as “scum”.

The four raiders wore balaclavas when they struck at a couple's home in Long Green, Cressing, at about 4am yesterday .

The couple - a 60-year-old man and his 61-year-old wife - were left “deeply shocked” and “traumatised” by the incident.

They were yesterday being cared for by their son, who branded the attackers “scum” and called on people in the community to help police track them down.

Raiders broke into the semi-detached house before making their way up to the master bedroom where the couple lay asleep at about 4am.

A police spokeswoman said the man tried to fight off the robbers before being hit on the head and electrocuted with what he believes was a Taser gun.

The man and his wife were then tied up by the gang who made off with a metal box safe containing what police describe as a “large sum of money”, personal documents and jewellery.

It is thought the men may have run off down the footpath in Long Green out towards a car parked beforehand in Wright's Avenue in nearby Tye Green.

The couple, who are not being named, managed to telephone the police and the man was treated by medical staff for a cut to the head.

Their son, Steve, said yesterday: “I have two missions at the moment. The first is to make sure my parents are okay. Obviously they are not in a good way at the moment, they are traumatised.

“The second is to catch these scum. The police are pursuing a few lines of enquiry and I cannot speak about that side of things at the moment.

“We need to get to these people. Things like this just don't happen in leafy areas near Braintree. We will get them.”

Det Sgt Greg Potter, at Braintree CID, said: “This is a disturbing incident where a frightening amount of violence was used against a couple in their 60s who were left traumatised.”

The couple are being looked after by members of their family.

The raiders were all wearing light-coloured balaclavas. They are described as being fairly tall and were all wearing jeans and spoke with local accents.

Detectives want to speak with anybody who was in the area at the time of the raid, who may have seen a car parked suspiciously in Wright's Avenue in Tye Green or who might have seen anything suspicious in the area during the previous day.

Anybody who saw anything or has any information about the raid is asked to contact Braintree CID on 01276 551312.