An elderly woman who was viciously assaulted as she cowered under a machete held aloft by a robber has spoken out about Bermuda's violent crime problem.

And her comments followed international news coverage questioning Bermuda's safety record after the Rebecca Middleton murder trial made headlines.

Mary Pickles, 78, spoke to The Royal Gazette after she was released from hospital where she was taken for emergency care when Police discovered her kneeling on the floor covered in blood on Wednesday.

It was the second time in two years Mary Pickles, 78, has been attacked at home and terrorised by drug-crazed thieves.

In late 1996 she was grabbed by the throat and thrown on to a couch by a man after she answered the door. He ripped a gold necklace from her neck before escaping on motorcycle.

Mrs. Pickles -- who has run the Loughlands Guesthouse in Paget for 25 years after moving here from the UK with her husband -- recounted how this week she heard a cycle drive up at about 11.30 a.m.

On answering the door she was hit in the face by a black man in his 20s wielding a machete.

He then pushed her on the floor and forced his way inside demanding money.

To her horror the man -- whose accomplice waited outside on the bike -- ignored her pleas to take the money and leave her alone.

"He wasn't thinking, maybe because of drugs, so he didn't believe me. He raised the machete above his head as if to swing it down and then said I had ten seconds left and started counting.'' At that point she blanked out and could not remember anything until Police arrived.

The greatest sadness she felt was not what could have happened to her but for Bermuda's lost innocence, she said.

"What can you do about it? It's very sad for Bermuda. Everybody thinks it's so safe here, but it's not. "Before they come here they think it's one of the safest places in the world but they soon find out. Everyday you read about something happening somewhere else in Bermuda.

"You can't even walk down the street without getting your handbag snatched.'' And after looking the thief in the eye as he brandished the machete she wondered what would have happened if a passerby who heard her screams had not alerted Police so quickly.

"If you have a machete and you come to someone's house you're planning to do more damage than just stealing something.'' But Mrs. Pickles was philosophical and determined to continue hosting tourists at her popular guesthouse.

"It's no good just talking about it. You've just got to handle it and go on.'' Police want any witnesses or anyone who was on the section of the Railway Trail between the Harmony Club and S Hill (Ord Road) in Paget between 11 a.m.

and midday on Wednesday to telephone them on 299 4281.

SENIOR SR ACCIDENT AC