A WOMAN was taken to hospital with a broken nose after a youth punched her as she stood on the doorstep of her home.

A police spokesman said the 46-year-old was knocked unconscious after answering her door to the teenager on the Coach Road Estate, in Usworth, Washington, Wearside, at 1.30pm on Monday.

The spokesman said: "The youth asked her for a cigarette. When she refused he punched her and ran off.

"The blow broke her nose and she was knocked unconscious."

The woman was treated at the Sunderland Royal Hospital.

The youth is described as 15 or 16, 5ft 8in, thin, with a pale complexion. He spoke with a Wearside accent and was wearing a dark coat, with the hood up, and the front of the coat pulled up over his mouth. He also wore a dark balaclava.

Anyone with information has been asked to call 0191-454 7555 ext 66462.