A WOMAN has been bailed in connection with a violent burglary which left the founder of Fenland Fisheries with broken ribs and a punctured lung.

Mike Hawes, originally from Manea, was tied up, beaten and dragged around his home by a gang of five men on Wednesday July 18.

The 53-year-old had been dozing on the couch in his house in Earith when the thieves, who were all wearing balaclavas, broke in and demanded money.

Officers have arrested a 53-year-old woman on suspicion of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary. She has been bailed until August 16.

Following the attack, Mr Hawes was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge with multiple facial injuries. His attackers had also broken his ribs, puncturing a lung, which started to fill with blood.

The gang managed to steal a small sum of money and Mr Hawes’s grey Toyota Hilux, which was found abandoned 400 metres down the road.

Mr Hawes established Fenland Fisheries in 1984 when he bought 16 acres of disused gravel pits at Earith. He grew up in Manea, playing football and cricket for the village.

INFORMATION: Anyone with information should call Cambridgeshire police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.