Elderly NSW couple assaulted by intruders

An 82-year-old man has been hit with an iron bar and assaulted by a gang during a violent home invasion on the NSW mid-north coast, while his elderly wife hid in their bathroom and called police.

Five people, wearing hoodies with their faces covered, forced their way into the East Kempsey home late on Monday, the second of two attempts after the couple's front door was allegedly broken by intruders the previous day, police said.

The elderly man was clubbed with an iron bar and then punched and kicked by several intruders as his 70-year-old wife locked herself in the bathroom and called police.

The gang ransacked the home, before the elderly man was able to hit one of the intruders with a torch as they fled the scene, police said.

The man been taken to Kempsey Hospital for treatment for bruising, lacerations and a puncture wound to his thigh.

The home and nearby area was searched by police, but no one was located.