AN 83-year-old widow has heaped praise on the police - despite officers leaving her with a bloodied nose after bursting into her Fenland home during a drugs raid on the WRONG home.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, suffered a cut to her nose when armed police battered down the door to her home in the botched raid last week. Officers were supposed to be raiding a property further up the street in Wimblington, Cambridgeshire.

But the 83-year-old praised the force’s reaction to the error, which saw a host of police vehicles arrive outside her house last Monday morning.

She said: “It was about seven in the morning when I heard the banging. I thought it was a bit early for the postman.

“I was just getting to the front door when it flew open and banged my nose. There were six or seven of them that ran in and then said: ‘there’s no drugs here’.

“Everyone makes mistakes and as far as I’m concerned it never happened. I have forgotten about it and that’s the best thing to do.

“The police have looked after me and they have been very, very nice. They replaced the locks straight away and somebody has already been round to measure the door.

“Several people have rung me and asked if I’m all right, but I’m fine. I was up and out for dinner in March two days afterwards.”

The bungled raid was part of a day of action in Fenland, which saw police make six arrests and raid eight homes in a drugs crackdown.

Chief Inspector Mike Winters said the mistake was due to “an administrative error with the intelligence”.

He said: “Officers remained with the occupant while her door was fixed, contacted her family and ensured all of her welfare needs were addressed. We have since been round to the occupant to apologise and check on her.

“We are extremely sorry for any distress we have caused and will ensure we take all necessary steps to prevent this from happening.”

One neighbour said residents at a nearby property were “leaning out of the front bedroom window taunting the police”.

The neighbour said: “You have seen drugs busts in the past and can only hope to consider the effect that this can have on an innocent woman of this age.

“The attitude amongst us residents is that it’s no good calling the police for help.”