A pensioner chased a burglar from her home with a hatchet as he robbed her handbag.
The 69-year-old woman heard noises at her home in Kilmacrennan, Co Donegal, just after 4am yesterday.
The woman, who lives alone, was in another part of the house and called the Garda.
The intruder took the woman’s handbag but fled when she chased him with the hatchet. She was unhurt. Gardaí arrived a short time later.
Half an hour later, gardaí raided another house near the scene and arrested a 24-year-old man. They also recovered the woman’s handbag.
Relatives said the woman was badly shaken and would prefer not to comment.
The arrested man was last night still being questioned by gardaí under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
