A woman says she cannot go outside her home at night after she was thrown to the ground following an attempted robbery at the property outside Church Hill late on Sunday night.

It follows several thefts in Fermanagh in recent days, including a gun from the Belle Isle area and tools from a garage in Kesh.

At about 11pm Eleanor Carson was preparing to lock a garage at the home she shares with her husband David when she spotted a man dressed in dark clothing staring straight at her.

“I roared for David and this boy shoved me. I went down and cut my knee and bruised my hand. I went down that quickly and he ran like the hammers. He dropped what he was holding and that was it,” Mrs. Carson told The Impartial Reporter.

“I was absolutely petrified, I was hysterical, I was shaking, I was out of control. I roared and shouted, I don’t know what I shouted.”

The intruder who had black hair and was wearing a hooded top, jeans and trainers had been holding an item belonging to Mrs. Carson’s husband before running off down the avenue.

“He was in his early 20s, 30s, nothing more. He never opened his mouth. He stood right in front of me and look me straight in the eye before he ran off,” she recalled.

“I didn’t see another person or a vehicle. It was as if he was on his own.”

Mrs. Carson contacted the police whom she said were at the scene “very quickly” and were “excellent”.

It’s understood the intruder was spotted by at least two people along the main street of Derrygonnelly following the incident.

“A man was seen acting suspiciously near the Orange Hall. He had pulled the hood over his face and was later seen in a phone box.”

Mrs. Carson has been feeling anxious since the attempted break in and says she now finds it hard to get to sleep.

“After this it was five o’clock before I had gone to bed. I kept looking through the blinds to see if he was still there. Now I can’t go back onto that street in the dark, I am too afraid. It’s OK during the day light when the doors are locked. At night I am jittery, I am nervous,” she said.

A garage in the Kesh area was robbed on March 23 during which thieves made off with several tools while in the Belle Isle area a gun was stolen.

The left-handed double barrel Beretta over and under 12 gauge shot gun with adjustable stock was taken, plus a stainless-steel men’s Rolex watch with oyster bracelet and woman's gold jewellery including a necklace, ring and earrings. An appeal about the theft was posted on the PSNI Fermanagh Facebook page on March 24.

Police in Enniskillen are investigating the theft of tools from a vehicle in the Monea area. The theft occurred sometime between 8pm hours on March 12 and 6.30am the following morning. The items taken were a Fluke Multi Meter, a Makita Drill and a Dewalt Cordless Kit.

Meanwhile police are also appealing for information about a boat described as a grey 19ft fishing vessel with a blue canopy reported stolen from the Boa Island Road area in the last fortnight.