A 73-YEAR-OLD woman told today how she thought she was going to be murdered by a man who attacked and robbed her in her home in York.

The woman was subjected to a terrifying ordeal which began when she was grabbed from behind on the doorstep of her home in Westminster Road as she returned from a shopping trip.

She was repeatedly punched in the face, which left her with a bruised and swollen mouth.

"It was terrifying. I thought he was going to murder me," she said.

The attack began just after the woman had opened her door.

"The next thing I knew I felt his hand across my mouth and in a quiet tone he said, 'Don't scream, don't scream'. He dragged me into the dining room and forced me down on the ground."

At one point he took his hand away from her mouth and she called out, pretending there was someone else in the house, but her attacker was not fooled.

The man tried to drag her upstairs. She believed he may have been hoping to find jewellery in a bedroom.

"I said to him, 'If it's money you're after, I'll give you what little I have and you can go'."

Then the telephone rang and, to her surprise, the man let her answer it.

"It was a woman who lives opposite. She asked if I was all right. I said, 'No. Could you come over immediately', and she knew something was wrong.

"He saw my purse lying on the floor and he grabbed it. He punched me in the face three times. It was terrible."

The man then ran off with her purse, which contained £20, a bank card and a store card.

Her attacker was described as Afro-Caribbean, aged 25 to 30 and 5ft 10ins to 6ft tall.

He was wearing a navy baseball cap, red bomber jacket and light-coloured trousers.

The neighbour who telephoned had become suspicious when she saw the man hanging about in the street and then walking down the woman's driveway. She also alerted other neighbours and called the police.

Neighbours also helped the woman to cancel her bank and store cards.

They were able to give a description to the police.

She said: "They have been so kind helping me. I can't thank them enough."

The woman is being comforted by her two sons.

The attack happened at about 1.30pm on Monday.

Police have described the incident as "a particularly nasty and cowardly attack" and have appealed for anyone with information to call detectives in York on 01904 631321.

Updated: 11:47 Wednesday, March 27, 2002