Main picture shows the wound from the attack on the womans neck. INSET: The attacker.POLICE today released this artist's impression of the man who attacked and robbed a woman in her own home.

Detectives hope the image will prompt people to identify the armed intruder who broke into Dee Tinsley's home in Eldene and punched her in the face before stealing valuable items.

It is the second such attack reported to police in the last fortnight.

A 23-year-old woman, who lives in Creiff Close, Nythe, says a man burst into her home at 8.25am on Sunday, May 25, and held her at knifepoint.

Acting Detective Sergeant Debbie Waters, who is heading the investigation, was at pains to point out that both incidents are not being linked at this stage. She said: "We are not directly linking the attacks. Both of them are being individually investigated as fully as possible."

The Evening Advertiser reported on Monday how the man scaled Mrs Tinsley's 8ft garden wall. He gained entrance through her back door in Collingsmead, Eldene, which was left open before the attack at 10am last Friday.

He grabbed her after she had just got out of the bath and demanded money. When Mrs Tinsley, 46, said she had none, he dragged her by the hair to the top of the stairs and prised two gold rings from her fingers.

Det Sgt Walters said: "We want to catch this man as soon as possible, so that this doesn't happen to anyone else. The description is very distinct. We urge anyone who recognises this man to get in touch."

The man is described as white, 5ft 6ins to 5ft 8ins tall, of medium build with a round face and in his early 20s.

He had dirty fingernails and blue eyes with long, dark eyelashes. He was wearing baggy, wide-bottomed, dark blue jeans, Nike trainers and a burgundy Nike baseball cap.

Still shaken by the ordeal, Mrs Tinsley has urged anyone who recognises the intruder to come forward.

She said: "I won't go out alone any more. Just knowing this man is still out there makes me feel sick. I can't sleep for fear of it happening again.

"It's like being a prisoner in your own home. But I keep having flashbacks of what he did to me and just pray that the police catch him soon."

Detectives are also investigating an attack on a mother-of-two who was held at knifepoint in her own home, although they are not yet linking the two incidents.

The 23-year-old woman who was involved in the attack on Sunday, May 25, said she was held at knifepoint.

The woman, who works as a retail assistant, was alone in the house at the time of the incident and had left the back door unlocked, but believes the man had been watching her home before he attacked.

She said: "The man threw open the door, grabbed a knife from the draining board and held it to my throat.

"He shouted 'where's your money?' and was opening cupboards and draws.

"I could feel the knife digging into my skin. It was terrifying I thought he was going to slit my throat.

"Then he spun me round and threw me onto the floor in the lounge while he went through my handbag.

"I said that my partner would be home soon, and he fled, leaving the knife behind."

The woman called her partner, who had left minutes earlier to pick up the children a toddler and a baby girl from his father's house, a two-minute car ride away.

The woman's partner, a 34-year-old office worker, raced home.

He said: "When I found my partner she still had the phone in her hand, and was curled up in a ball, crying."

He called the police, and within minutes five patrol cars and a helicopter had been mobilised.

He said: "My partner is still really scared and traumatised.

"But we're not going to let this coward ruin our lives.

"I just want the police to catch him and put him away."

The attacker in this case, is described as a skinny, white male aged between 20 and 25-years-old.

He wore a Nike baseball cap, a blue sweatshirt, dirty stone washed jeans and well-worn white trainers.

He had blue eyes and shaved brown hair.