POLICE used a battering ram to gain access to a Middlewich house after concerns were raised about the welfare of an elderly woman.

Officers were called to the home of a woman in her 70s in Ventnor Close at around 10am today, Wednesday.

A spokesman for Cheshire Police said: "The woman was on the floor and it was unknown if she was conscious or breathing.

"The officers forced entry and she was checked out by paramedics."

A spokesman for North West Ambulance Service said the pensioner was taken to Leighton Hospital.

A witness added: "One of the officers vanished and came back with a battering ram.

"It took them a while - they had to smash the door in three different places."