An elderly woman who is partially sighted and largely deaf had her face slashed with knives and was severely beaten by intruders to her home in what the RUC has described as "an unbelievably horrific assault".
Ms Anna Long (68) was attacked by two men who forced their way through a rear window of her isolated farmhouse near Limavady, Co Derry, on Thursday night. Relatives say she is now too terrified to return to the cottage at Ringsend Road where she has lived alone for most of her life.
"She's so deaf she didn't even hear them coming in," said Ms Long's son-in-law, Mr Ronald Steele.
"They were out to rob Anna, but they didn't even give her the chance to hand over whatever money she had. They simply beat her about the house and held her down while they took turns to slash her in the face with the knives, beat her black and blue and jump on her." The alarm was raised by a passing motorist who saw Ms Long waving her arms outside her home, six miles from Limavady.
"He thought she was warning him about sheep being on the road," said Insp Ivan Goldsworthy, "but when he didn't see any, he reversed back to Anna and he was deeply shocked when he saw the condition she was in."
The motorist uses the road regularly and knew Ms Long to see as she walked to and from Limavady several days a week to do her shopping. He also saw two men running from the back of her house, Insp Goldsworthy said.
"He used his mobile phone to alert us to what had happened. Police officers arrived quickly on the scene. The first thing they did was call an ambulance which took Anna to hospital and, typical of just how a determined and independent lady she is, she discharged herself."
He said police believed the perpetrators had some local knowledge, noting that Ms Long was a well-known character in the area.
"This was a very callous and wicked assault on a very vulnerable and much-loved member of the community."
The woman's empty handbag and a scarf were found near the house after a search by sniffer dogs.
Mr Steele said his mother-in-law was badly traumatised and too afraid to return to her home.
"She stayed on her own and lives for her sheep. Now she will stay with us because she said she doesn't want to go back to her home. Her last words before she went to sleep today were: `Are you sure they can't get me in here?' It's very difficult for us to reassure her."
He added: "Anna is lucky to be alive. She's always looked after herself, she never went to school, she had a speech impediment, she's blind in one eye and she's almost totally deaf, and obviously these boys picked on her because she is a soft touch."