Gwyneth Davies, from Treharris, near Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales, hit the man four times with her metal stick when she caught him breaking into her kitchen on Friday evening.

The pensioner said the man then buried his face in his hands and wept as she made him sit on a stool and stood guard over him until the police arrived.

Mrs Davies was getting ready for bed when she heard a crash in the kitchen and went to investigate.

She opened the door and found herself face-to-face with the man, who had broken in through the back door.

She said: I heard a bang so I went to look, and there he was standing on the other side of the kitchen door.

“I wasn’t going to have this - I thought I’d do something about it. He played right into my hands, so I let him have it.