THE frail 87-year-old victim of a sex assault in her own home waived her right to anonymity yesterday , saying: "I want people to know who I am and what this man has done."

Widow Frances Doran was attacked in her ground floor council flat as she lay in bed, some time after 11pm on Friday.

The pensioner, who lives alone, issued a statement from her hospital bed, saying: ''I want people to know who I am and I want people to know what this man has done and I don't want anyone else to have to go through it.

"Don't let him get away with it."

Mrs Doran's daughter, Denise Timney, said the family had been buoyed by the messages of support they have received.

Mrs Timney said: "We have all been in a state of shock since this happened and I think it is only just starting to hit us - but we are also very, very angry.

"My mother is very frail, but she is fighting back and every day she is feeling a bit better."

Mrs Doran, a mother-of-two, of the Grangetown district of Sunderland, was so terrified after the attack that she wrapped herself in her bed clothes and only raised the alarm next morning when her home help arrived.

The police were called and she was taken to Sunderland Royal Infirmary, where she received treatment for an existing heart condition.

Police have appealed for information about four people they want to trace as part of their inquiries.

A teenager, aged about 17, was seen knocking on the window of a nearby flat at about 5.30pm on Friday.

They would also like to trace a man seen in the communal entrance to the flats at about 11.20pm that day. He was in his late twenties, and had short dark hair and was wearing a baggy jacket.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Wade appealed yesterday to a woman who telephoned from a call box on Monday afternoon to get in touch again, as she did not leave her name.

He also asked a male passenger in a taxi, who was taken from the Ryhope area of Sunderland and dropped off in Woodstock Avenue, at about 3.30am on Saturday, to come forward.

A £2,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the conviction of the attacker.

* A 14-year-old has been charged with burglary and indecent assault following an incident in Hardwick, Stockton, on Tuesday. The alleged assault took place on a 79-year-old woman in her home.

The teenager, from Stockton, is due to appear before youth court tomorrow.