A Hampshire grandmother has told how she chased an intruder out of her home after he attacked her.

Lorraine Barter, 77, had just come through the front door of her house in Southampton’s Polygon area yesterday when she turned around to see a tall stranger standing behind her in the hall.

She said: “I could see he wasn’t a harmless student looking for directions.

“He grabbed my bag which was around my neck and pulled me so hard I crashed into a cabinet in the hall and injured myself.”

Mrs Barter called for her husband Jim, who was upstairs, to call for the police, and as the intruder fled from the house the plucky pensioner gave chase.

Ms Barter ran after her attacker for a short distance before losing him in Wilton Avenue.

Following her experience Mrs Barter warned anyone entering their house to get inside quickly and bolt the door before anyone can follow them.

The pensioner is well known in Southampton for her long-term work on improving the Polygon, having led decade-long campaigns against family homes being turned into houses of multiple occupancy, litter and night-time levies.

Bargate councillor John Noon called the crime “despicable” and said Ms Barter was an active member of the community.

He said: “I’ve never heard of anyone being mugged in their own property before. We hear of students being burgled a lot but I’ve got to say I’m very concerned that this kind of thing is going on in Southampton.”

The man is described as tall and Asian or Mediterranean. He was thin and wore a dark “blouson” jacket, jeans, a dark flat cap and headphones.

Paramedics from South Central Ambulance service examined Mrs Barter but she did not require hospital treatment.

Hampshire police were not available for comment.