TWO Latvians have been cleared of assaulting a 74-year-old grandma after it could not be proved who pushed her down a flight of stairs.

But Vjaceslavs Skerskans, 29, and Ramunas Budvyatis, 30, are still facing jail after admitting a burglary, which carries a lesser penalty than grievous bodily harm (GBH), at Dorothy Hodgson's Brierfield home.

During a hearing at Burnley Crown Court, it was said that Budvyatis had served five years for robbery in Latvia, and Skerskans was wanted by police for offences in his native country.

Speaking after the case Mrs Hodgson, who was left with serious injuries after the attack and still requires surgery, said she did not bear any grudges.

However, Pendle MP Gordon Prentice hit out at the decision not to prosecute for GBH and called for Skerskans and Budvyatis to be deported.

He said: "One or the other pushed her down the stairs. I do not really understand this. If someone was murdered and there were two people at the scene and it was not possible to establish which one of the two did it, the charge of murder would not be dropped. I don't know why the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) did not press that point.

"Foreign nationals who come to this country and commit ought to be punished. These people should be sent to prison or whatever punishment a judge deems fit, then deported back to Latvia.

"We don't want these kind of people here."

Mrs Hodgson, 74, had to have 30 stitches in her lip, chin and head after the incident which happened at her home in July.

She is now scarred, can't eat or open her mouth properly and still faces further surgery.

The court was told Mrs Hodgson, who lived alone, disturbed the defendants burgling her home.

As she turned to go downstairs she was pushed from behind. It was unclear whether it was deliberate.

Even though seriously injured, Mrs Hodgson tried to call the police but one of the men snatched the phone from her.

Forensic evidence found the men's fingerprints at the property and DNA on cigarette butts, but it had not helped establish who pushed Mrs Hodgson and who grabbed the phone.

Following the raid, police launched a major manhunt for the offenders and Skerskans and Budvyatis were charged with GBH and burglary. They denied assaulting Mrs Hodgson.

The Crown Prosecution had wanted them to face trial over the allegation, claiming although it could not say which man was responsible for the push, it was a "joint enterprise."

However, Recorder Ford said there was no proof they were together when the push happened.

The pair will be sentenced next month when formal not guilty verdicts will be passed for the GBH charge.

Mrs Hodgson, a mother-of-two and grandmother-of-two, now lives in sheltered accommodation in Brierfield after family and police did not want her to return to her home of 38 years.

Just 10 days after the incident she was back at Burnley FC's Turf Moor where she volunteers for the St John's Ambulance.

Mrs Hodgson thanked police and said she was getting on with life.

She said: "You can't let it get you down. You have just got to get on with it. The support was tremendous. The number of cards and flowers we had was unbelievable.

"I don't hold any grudges against them. I don't know why. It's probably because I don't know them."

The maximum sentence for GBH with intent is life, while for burglary it is 14 years. Superintendent Neil Smith said "unnecessary violence" was used in the incident.

He said: "These were determined offenders who were intent on stealing property from a vulnerable victim."