Exclusive:Sheffield woman pleaded for her life in terrifying armed raid in own home
Terrified victim says she was threatened while still in her bed early in the morning
A Sheffield woman pleaded with armed raiders not to kill her when they burst into her home while she was still in bed.
Michelle Parker, aged 64, was woken up while she was still in bed on Saturday morning, by two men demanding money and threatening her with a weapon - a knife or screwdriver.
Michelle, who worked as a cleaner until recently, said: “I’m still shaken up - I don’t dare go out of the house after what happened.”
The robbery came two days after she and her sister had collected a trust fund which had been left to her and her brothers and sisters after a death in the family.
The money was to be split between the four of them, with each to receive £4,500.
But two days after it had been picked up, she was robbed.
Neighbours had reported seeing men wearing balaclavas outside the house in Manor Top.
Michelle, who is now a carer for a relative, awoke with a start on Saturday morning, at around 9.30am.
She said she the men who got into her house did so silently, because they had not woken her dog.
She said: “There were two people. One came into the bedroom and said ‘give me the money now’. He was threatening me with either a knife or a screwdriver.
“He was right up to my face. I said ‘please don’t kill me’. I had no choice but to tell them where the money was.”
She said they took the money, before both running away.
They took her phone with them, making it harder for her to call police to raise the alarm.
Her husband had been out at the shops at the time.
She said the incident, on Princess Court, near Manor Top, left her in a daze, but South Yorkshire Police were on the scene 20 minutes later.
Michelle’s dad, Joe, a retired scaffolder, died three weeks ago, aged 88, leaving a trust fund to his children.
She is now urging anyone with any information which may help the police investigation to contact South Yorkshire Police.
Police say they were called out at at 9.20am on Saturday (October 17) to reports of a robbery at Princess Court, Sheffield.
They said in a statement: “It is reported that two men entered a woman’s property and that one of them threatened her with a weapon, believed to be a knife or screwdriver.
“It is further alleged that the men stole a large amount of cash from the property and fled the scene.
“Enquiries are ongoing and anyone with information that could help our investigation is asked to get in touch online or by calling 101, quoting incident number 289 of October 17, 2026.