MARY Crofts was settled in front of her TV in the comfort of her own home when the thug burst into the house armed with a hammer.
The pensioner, who is partially deaf, did not hear the thug approaching her from behind and the next thing she knew he had his hands around her throat - an attack which could have killed her.
The normally bright and alert 93-year-old struggled as much as she could against the armed man - more than 60 years younger than her - before she fell on to the floor and blacked out.
When medics at the Northern General Hospital examined her they discovered she had suffered a heart attack brought on by the stress of her ordeal.
Mary can remember looking on helplessly as the robber rummaged through her purse, throwing papers on to the floor and taking what little cash there was inside, before she lost consciousness. When she came to she realised he had ransacked her home. Mary's family believe he got away with about £400 she kept hidden in the house.
Mary, whose husband Alf died in 1992, aged 77, was attacked in the home she has lived in for 51 years - and says she will never again feel safe there.
The pensioner, who was brought up in Walkley and moved to Hillsborough after her wedding, used to work in a nut and bolt factory in her younger years before opening up a general store on Langsett Road, which she ran with her husband.
Mary knows she will have to return home eventually after her stay in hospital but said the raid will haunt her.
Her son Dennis, who was working in Norfolk when news of the raid broke and raced to Sheffield to be at his mum's side, said he is thankful the thug never used the hammer.
"She thought he was going to kill her - she thought he was going to strangle her," he said. "I don't know what things are coming to this day and age when you can't even sit in your own house on your own. I find it appalling. It's bad enough that he walked in the house but the intent of having hammer is to use it."
Dennis speaks out about the man who attacked his frail mum.
Click on the green icon above to hear his interview with crime reporter Claire Lewis.READ MOREHammer raid hell for OAP - Audio interview, click here for more on this story.Main news indexLettersFind out what else is going on in your area and send us the news that is happening In Your Neighbourhood, click hereCheck out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic sectionLatest sport.The full article contains 471 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
