AN ELDERLY woman was terrified when a team of police smashed down her front door in the mistaken belief that her home was a drugs den.

And the red-faced police officers involved have now visited the couple again - to apologise to them in person.

The 78-year-old woman was at her home in Carfax Path, St Dials, Cwmbran, on Tuesday evening when officers stormed in, apparently to carry out a drugs raid.

Her husband, also in his 70s, was in the garden, bringing in the washing, and rushed back in to see what was happening.

The couple were still too stunned to speak at length to the Argus last night, but confirmed that the experience had been shocking for them at the time.

Their front door has been boarded up with a wooden panel and could not be repaired by Torfaen council until today, due to the strike by workers.

Their next-door neighbour said: "The police smashed the door in and it terrified me. I thought it was thunder from the noise they made. I was talking to my neighbours afterwards, and in the end they just passed it off as a joke, but it must have been frightening for them.

"It was a bad mistake, which was obviously done on false information. I understand the difficulty with drugs, but the police can't go like a bull at a gate at someone's door without exactly proving who is inside. I think they overplayed their hand."

And he added: "The door is just boarded up. The glass should have been renewed." Gwent Police have since apologised to the couple.

Detective Inspector Paul Evans, from Cwmbran CID, said: "This occurred as a result of a number of search warrants that were executed on the night, and all the others proved to be successful.

"Unfortunately the information we received in relation to these premises was incorrect and we apologise for any stress we caused. They have been visited by us and have received a personal apology from the officers involved."

A spokesman for Torfaen county borough council said last night: "We will visit the property and make sure the door is secure. If it is unable to be fixed, we will replace it within three days."