Woman, 85, bashed in her NSW home

An 85-year-old woman has been belted in the face with a metal mallet by a young man at her northern NSW home.

She handed over her handbag to the intruder, telling him she had only a dollar in it.

As he rummaged around in the bag, she ran out the back door of her South Kempsey home and screamed for help.

The intruder, believed to be in his teens, fled.

The woman, who lives alone, was treated on Sunday for bruising to her left eye and forearm.