Elderly couple suffer neck and head injuries after suspected burglar's 'vicious' attack

A man has been arrested and is being questioned by police

A general view of Elm Grove, Scunthorpe, where an elderly couple were seriously injured in a "vicious attack" by a suspected burglar, police have said. (PA)

An elderly couple are in critical condition after they were attacked in their home by a suspected burglar.

Humberside Police said a 36-year-old man had been arrested and was being questioned over what they said was a “vicious attack”.

A 90-year-old man suffered throat injuries while his wife, in her 80s, sustained injuries to her head when they were assaulted at their home in Scunthorpe yesterday evening.

Eyewitnesses said they saw a man driving away in a white van following the attack.

A man was arrested in Brigg, North Lincolnshire, early this morning and is being held at Scunthorpe police station.

Police had initially been alerted to the crime after members of the public saw a man running from the pensioners’ home. They entered the property to find the two seriously injured.

The attack is believed to have happened at about 5.20pm.

The house has now been corned off and police are conducting door-to-door inquiries on Elm Grove, the central Scunthorpe road on which the incident happened.

Earlier, a Humberside Police spokesman said: "It is believed they were assaulted by the man who was attempting to burgle them. At this time it is not known whether anything was stolen."

Detective Inspector Jon Cross said last night: "This was a vicious attack on two elderly and vulnerable members of the community in their own home."