A WOMAN in her sixties was robbed as she walked alone at night.

The victim, aged 64 and from Southend, was attacked from behind by a woman who placed her hand over her mouth, in Honiton Road, Southend.

The suspect kept saying “I don’t want to hurt you” as she struggled with the victim, trying to snatch her handbag.

She managed to drag the woman’s bag away and ran off, leaving the terrified victim with a cut to her hand.

Police are hunting for a woman in her twenties who was wearing heeled shoes or boots at the time of the attack.

Chief Insp Simon Anslow, district commander for Southend, said: “An attack on someone walking on their own in Southend remains rare, but must have been extremely distressing for the victim.

“This is in a part of town where we spend a lot of time patrolling and we will continue to pay attention in the area in the hope of identifying the suspect.”

The bag contained cosmetics and personal items worth £46.

The attacker was a white woman possibly wearing a hooded jacket. She spoke with a local accent.

Despite the attack, police have seen a 39 per cent reduction in robberies in the last year. Latest figures show there were 155 offences between April 1, 2014, and March 8, compared to 256 in the same period last year.

Mr Anslow said: “The success we have seen this year has been built on solid investigations of offences.

“However, we are not resting on our laurels when these offences are reported. We will continue to do everything we can to bring people responsible for such a violent crime to justice.”

Anyone with information about the attack, which happened at 11pm on March 5, can call police on 101.