A FRIEND of an elderly man who was robbed of £20,000 in a ‘terrifying’ raid has set up a fundraiser to try and claw some of the money back.

Malcolm Hodgson, 74, was robbed by two conmen, James Hughes, 37 of no fixed abode, and Wayne Roberts, 36, formerly of Burton Road, after they let themselves into his Mapplewell home and lied about their reasons for being there, before punching the victim in the face.

The pair had managed to steal £20,000 from the elderly man after keeping him captive for around an hour while they robbed him, threatening violence and injury if they did not comply with their demands.

Roberts was found guilty of robbery following a jury trial and jailed for 14 years, whilst Hughes, who had pleaded guilty to robbery before the trial as well as an additional count of burglary relating to a separate incident, received a four-year sentence.

In a bid to help support Mal one of his friends, 28-year-old Laura Yoxall of Stairfoot, set up a fundraiser to try and collect £1,000 for the man - more than £600 has already been raised.

She said: “I’ve set the fundraiser up to try get him a little bit of his money back as they never recovered the money.

“I know I’ll never get the £20,000 back but I’m just happy reaching the target of £1,000.

“I will be putting the money straight into Mal’s bank account and then I’ll leave it running for around a month or so.

“I’m currently doing football scratch cards to raise funds which is going really well - my brother Luke is also doing them.”

To donate to Laura’s fundraiser, visit gofundme.com/f/m8mj2b-help-mal-get-back-on-his-feet.