A 27-year-old woman has spoken of her terror after she was robbed whilst on her way home.

A man grabbed Katie Boofer, from King's Lynn, knocked her to floor and punched her face in a vicious attack which took place at Friars Fleet, south of the town.

The thief ran off with her purse and as she dialled 999, to her horror he returned - and handed back her purse after he stole £10 and left her bank cards.

'That was the scariest bit,' Miss Boofer said. 'He had taken my purse, I thought, what else does he want?'

Miss Boofer's ordeal began on Saturday November 22 after she left a friends house to walk home at around 12.30am - a route she had never taken before.

Just before 1.10am, she was walking along Hardings Way when she realised a man was walking behind her.

She said: 'I noticed he was walking very close to the bushes which made this man seem creepier than normal.'

But as she reached for her keys in her pocket she felt the man's arm go over her left shoulder.

'I thought what on earth is going on? I turned around and he had hold of me. I used my forearm to try and get him off then asked him to get off. He then decided to get my bag.'

Miss Boofer said that without realising, she wouldn't let go of her bag as adrenaline started to rapidly flow through her.

But the culprit knocked her to the ground, knelt onto her chest and punched her in the face and ran off with her purse.

'I called 999 but as soon as I had dialled it the number I noticed he was coming back - I was panicking. He muttered a few words to me as he handed my purse back.'

The operator remained on the phone until the police arrived in 11 minutes. Miss Boofer said that the realisation of what had happened to her hit her during that time: 'I just couldn't even tell the operator what had happened - I couldn't speak.'

Detective Constable Moden said: 'I'm keen to hear from anyone who may have been travelling in this area in the early hours of Saturday and may have noticed a man acting suspiciously.'

Anybody with any information should contact DC Moden at King's Lynn CID on 101.