A QUIET market town was in shock last night after an 84- year-old woman was beaten around the head with a hammer and her own walking stick by another woman.

The attack happened in the popular Yorkshire Dales town of Leyburn.

The victim, who lives locally, was struck four times in the public toilets in Leyburn, having just withdrawn a large amount of money from the bank.

Last night, she was in a stable condition in Darlington Memorial Hospital.

Police are hunting a woman in her 40s.

The attack happened in the Kelberdale Terrace conveniences, near the Posthorn Tea and Coffee House, at about 11am yesterday.

It is understood she had visited the post office inside the Co-op supermarket and then Barclays bank, before crossing the market place to the toilets.

The pensioner’s empty handbag was later found in another public toilet opposite the town’s Sandpiper Inn.

One man, who asked not to be named, told how he helped the pensioner after the attack.

He said: “There was blood all over – it was terrible. I think she had been followed in there.”

Another witness told how she later saw the victim walking to the ambulance holding her head.

The pensioner was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to hospital.

The toilets were cordoned off yesterday while crime scene investigators examined the area.

Police carried out door-to-door searches and spoke to shoppers and shopworkers in the town.

Members of the public yesterday spoke of their shock at the attack, saying that it was almost unheard of for such violence to take place in the normally peaceful town.

One shop assistant said: “It’s a horrible, horrible thing to happen. You don’t need to attack an old woman with a hammer to take her money.”

Another said: “I know what I would like to do to the person who did this – it wouldn’t be nice.”

The attacker was a white woman in her 40s. She was wearing a burgundy or wine-coloured winter coat and had mid-length, mid-brown hair. She is also described as having “high colour” in her cheeks.

The stick, which belonged to the pensioner, was recovered by officers, but police are still searching for the hammer.

Detectives are appealing for anyone who either witnessed the attack or saw a woman matching the description of the suspect in either of the toilet blocks, or walking between the two, to contact them urgently.

Detective Inspector Andrea Kell described the incident as a “horrific attack on an elderly woman in broad daylight”.

She said: “It is vital that we find the person responsible.

“I am appealing to any members of the public who were in the market place if they believe they can assist the investigation, or anyone who knows who carried out this shocking attack, to contact us as a matter of urgency.”

Anyone with information is asked to call North Yorkshire Police on 0845-60-60-24-7, quoting reference 0132 of November 29.

Witnesses can also give information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.