THE family of an elderly woman who had her eyes taped shut by an intruder in her Derry home have said a panic alarm saved her life.
The 88-year-old was targeted in her Ballynasilloe Park home on Tuesday at around 11am when someone knocked her window and she opened her front door.
The woman's daughter told the BBC that her mother thought it was a meal delivery service.
The victim was pushed into a room by the intruder who taped her eyes and wrists, but she managed to feel for her panic alarm under her clothing and pressed it.
Upon hearing an intercom call from the alarm company asking if she needed assistance, the intruder fled.
"That wee feel saved her life," the daughter said.
"She was brave enough to find it and press it without the intruder knowing."
The daughter said of panic alarms: "Our message to the public is anyone who needs one must get one.
"We are asking the government to help any person who feels they can't afford it to provide some sort of resource to have it.
"We are also asking families to take responsibility for their elderly loved ones and make sure they wear it."
