A 101-year-old woman fought off a burglar who climbed through her flat window.
The centenarian was described as shaken but unhurt after her ordeal on Sunday night.
The raid in Crawley was one of 11 burglaries in the town in the space of six hours, several of which were at bungalows or sheltered accommodation.
Three men have been arrested and were being questioned on suspicion of burglary yesterday.
The 101-year-old woman was at home in her ground floor flat in Spurgeon Close, West Green, at about 7pm when a man climbed through her bedroom window.
He struggled with her briefly before taking her handbag and escaping. Nothing valuable was stolen.
The woman did not need to be taken to hospital.
Cash and jewellery were taken in ten other burglaries or attempted burglaries in West Green, Langley Green, Northgate and Three Bridges.
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