A teenager has been charged with the attempted murder of a 78-year-old woman following an alleged axe attack at her home - just weeks after she was assaulted on her doorstep.

A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested after police attended a burglary in central Maidstone.

He was also charged with robbery and possession of an offensive weapon and remanded in custody to appear at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday, February 14.

The pensioner was taken to Pembury Hospital with serious head injuries following the break-in at about 1.45am on Sunday.

Her daughter said: "She is stable and has some injuries, but she'll be OK because she is a very strong woman. If she wasn't as strong it would have killed her."

"She is stable and has some injuries, but she'll be OK because she is a very strong woman..." - pensioner's daughter

It is the second time the 78-year-old has been hospitalised in two weeks.

On January 22, an intruder barged into her home and broke her nose before demanding money.

He went upstairs before fleeing with nothing. The attack prompted a police appeal to catch the culprit.

It was believed the woman's house had been targeted before after a man tried to force his way in on December 27.

When she refused to let him in, he got into her back garden and broke a window before running away.

After reading about her ordeal, property tycoon Fergus Wilson offered a £1,000 reward to anyone who could help bring her attacker to justice.

Mr Wilson, 65, from Boughton Monchelsea, said: "I was extremely angry when I read about it. It has got to stop.

"This woman shouldn't have to spend her years being scared of knocks at her door."

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