A TERRIFIED landowner fled for his life as masked gunmen opened fire on him after forcing their way into his isolated farmhouse.

The 72-year-old horse breeder scrambled for cover behind a hedge to escape the intruders as gunshots whizzed over his head.

Ken Saddington had gone to investigate why his guard dogs were barking, when his front door was pushed open and he came face to face with two intruders armed with a handgun fitted with a silencer.

The duo threatened to kill him if he did not hand over the keys to Carlton Bank Stud, near Stokesley, North Yorkshire, where he lives with his wife, Heather.

Mrs Saddington, who had been staying the night with friends, said: "They grabbed him by the jumper and shoved a gun with a silencer up his nostril.

"They demanded the keys. When he said my wife locked up and she's got the keys, one said: 'You are a dead man then'.

"The Alsatian attacked one of them and bit him, and Ken managed to escape. He got down the embankment and hid behind the hedge."

Two shots were fired after Mr Saddington as he slithered down a slope into the cover of an overhanging hedge, taking with him his Alsatian, Chloe, which the robbers were threatening to shoot.

Mr Saddington, who regained his speech following a stroke three years ago, was badly shaken by his ordeal, his wife said.

She described the response from North Yorkshire Police as "brilliant".

A force spokesman said: "We are investigating an alleged incident at Carlton. At present, the circumstances have not been established. Until then it is difficult for us to comment further."

The Saddingtons believe the thieves were after the stud farm's expensive riding tack. A number of customers have suffered thefts over the past three months.

The Saddingtons won the British Warmblood Society Young Dressage Horse of the Year Championship for four-year-olds last year.

For years they have been locked in a legal dispute after their farmland was swamped by 1,500 gallons of diesel, which escaped from a contractor's tank during restoration work on Carlton Bank in June 1998.

Solicitors acting for the couple recently served papers on contractor HJ Banks, which admits responsibility.