A man today pleaded guilty to an attack that left a 24-year-old woman temporarily blinded.

Teresa Marie Chase was punched repeatedly in the head and face, leaving her left eye badly swollen.

She said today: "I'm glad justice has been done but I would have liked to have met him and asked why he acted the way he did."

Miss Chase, an architect's assistant, said she would have given the attacker the £10 he stole and there was no need for violence.

She was unable to see out of the eye for several weeks and had to wear a patch but no permanent damage was caused.

Duane Joseph, 24, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to robbery at Lewes Crown Court.

Sentencing was adjourned for reports but it is understood immigration officials are investigating and Joseph, from Jamaica, may be deported.

Miss Chase, an Australian living in Cardiff, was returning to a friend's home in Brighton after a party when she spotted Joseph in the front garden.

She said: "I asked him what he was doing and he just lunged at me, hitting me repeatedly in the eye and head."

He pushed her to the ground and she thought he was going to rape her.

She said: "He lay on top of me and put his hand over my mouth and nose. I could hardly breath. I was terrified."

Joseph ran off with £10 from her purse and the victim's friend, who witnessed part of the attack from a window, called the police.

The attack happened during the early hours of December 16 at the junction of Ditchling Road and Prince's Crescent, Brighton.

Miss Chase is planning to return to her parents home in Brisbane in two months time.

She said: "I'm fine now and this hasn't put me off Britain."