A NEWPORT grandmother's dream holiday to South Africa turned into a nightmare when she was tied up and held at gunpoint by four armed robbers.

Janice Pritchard, of Malpas, feared for her life as the gunmen ransacked the home where she was staying near Johannesburg.

The raiders stole thousands of pounds' worth of cash and property.

Mrs Pritchard, 63, a retired seamstress, was one of five people tied up and gagged by the intruders, who threatened to kill them all during the two-hour ordeal.

She said: "I was absolutely numb. We were all dumbfounded and were told not to say anything.

"We didn't speak as we were petrified."

Mrs Pritchard was visiting her sister-in-law, Jean Pritchard, for a family wedding and holiday.

She was spending her last night abroad at Jean's home at Northriding, in the Randburg district on the outskirts of Johannesburg, on November 13, when the robbers struck at 1.30am.

She said one of the gunmen kept cocking his gun to scare them.

Mrs Pritchard said: "We co-operated with everything they asked for but they started getting crosser and crosser when they couldn't find the keys to my sister-in-law's car.

"They said they would kill us if they did not get them.

"Fortunately I had seen them slide down the side of the sofa and was able to tell them where they were.

"All five of us managed to keep calm all the way through, which kept them calm, but if we hadn't, then we might not have been here today."

She said she had flown to South Africa from Heathrow on November 5 with family friends Judy Barker and her partner, Robin Harris, from Bedford.

Also with them was Ms Barker's nephew, Andrew Barford, from Cambridge.

All four were together with Jean Pritchard at her home on a secure compound when the armed gunmen broke into the property.

Mrs Pritchard said: "They tied us up together by the arms and bound our hands so tightly with shirt ties they found in the home that it stopped the circulation to our fingers.

"It seemed like they were very experienced at what they were doing and they all had rucksacks to take the goods.

"There was someone watching us all the time, and when we tried to get our fingers going for circulation they shouted at us not to move.

"It really hurt being tied up so tightly. They gagged us with brown tape wrapped around our heads four times.

"Later on I was separated from the group with Judy, and with us being two women alone we feared the worst."

She said she was left heartbroken when the robbers stole her wedding ring from her finger and took a locket that her husband, Bill Pritchard, who died in April 2003, gave her when she was just 18 years old.

The thieves stole cash, computers, DVDs, clothes, jewellery and electrical equipment from the property and drove the items away in Jean Pritchard's car.

"They stole absolutely everything they could sell, but thankfully they left our passports and credit cards."

Mrs Pritchard said her sister-in-law believed the security guards at the compound may have let the raiders through, as electric fencing and heavy gates surround the complex.

She said fellow guest Mr Harris had managed to get a pair of scissors after the robbers left and managed to free Jean Pritchard's hands.

The police arrived at her home two and a half hours after they reported the incident and carried out forensic examinations.

She said the officers questioned the security guards, who denied any knowledge of the robbery.

Residents told Mrs Pritchard there had never been anything like that at the compound since it was built three years ago.