POLICE were last night waiting at the hospital bedside of a pensioner who was severely injured in a street attack.

Joan Wainwright, 82, suffered a fractured skull, broken wrist and severe bruising after being attacked as she walked to a friend's house.

The incident happened in Zetland Road, Hartlepool, at about 1.30pm on Wednesday. During the attack her black shoulder bag containing a bottle of white wine and personal items was taken.

Fifteen officers are working on the case and a major search is under way in the area.

Households in Roseberry Road, Zetland Road and Topcliffe Street are being asked to check rear yards, outhouse roofs and alleys to see if any of the items have been dumped there.

Detective Inspector Amanda Oliver, from Hartlepool police, said: "This was a despicable attack on a defenceless lady who suffered horrific injuries.

"We have yet to speak to her. She is detained in hospital, where she is said to be in a poorly but stable condition."

The pensioner may have been followed as she walked along Elmwood Road, Thornhill Gardens, Hart Lane, Welldeck Road, Suggett Street, and into Zetland Road.

She was wearing a cream, three-quarter length coat, flowered head scarf, tweed skirt, brown gloves and black shoes.

Police are keen to speak to anyone who may have seen her in the area, and are particularly anxious to talk to a male, in his late teens or early twenties, who was in Thornhill Gardens shouting over a fence into the allotments.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Hartlepool Police on (01642) 302126 or Crime stoppers on 0800 555111.