An 84-year-old Crawley woman was savagely beaten in her home by a man who tried to sexually assault her.

The pensioner was punched in the face as she answered the door of her flat.

The man barged in and pushed the terrified woman into the bathroom, where he beat her to the floor and tried to indecently assault her.

The battling pensioner bit him on the face and he allowed her to get up but continued to rain down blows.

She screamed for help and her 71-year-old neighbour, who lives across the hallway, opened her door to see what was happening.

The attacker ran into the neighbour's flat.

He eventually left the block but took another punch at the 84-year-old on his way out.

Police say the man had put on a woman's voice to convince the woman to let him into the block through the intercom entry system at the flats in Brighton Road, Southgate.

She thought the caller was a male relative playing a practical joke.

Detective Constable Steve Tattersall, who is leading the hunt for the assailant, said: "This is an extremely serious, thankfully very rare, type of attack.

"We've all been impressed by how strong this lady has been after such a nasty assault."

The pensioner was able to give police a detailed description of her attacker.

He was aged between 19 and 23, 5ft 2in to 5ft 4in tall, of medium to plump build with slightly tanned skin and short, straight dark hair.

She said his face was round, like a child's drawing.

He was carrying a white plastic carrier bag with something like a football in it and wore a cream top and dark trousers when he called at about 4.50pm on Sunday.

Police believe the bite mark on his face from the pensioner's attempt to defend herself may help people recognise him.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Mr Tattersall at Crawley CID on 0845 6070999 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.