Man grabbed mum's throat and ran knife down her arm in Lincoln burglary attempt

A knifeman grabbed a mum by the throat and ran a blade down her arm after she discovered him burgling her home at 3am.

The intruder remained silent as he attacked Amy Tatton, 29, while her husband slept upstairs.

Traumatised: Amy Tatton was confronted by a knife-wielding burglar in her kitchen
Traumatised: The attack on Amy Tatton took place at her home in St Helen's Avenue, off Skellingthorpe Road, Lincoln

Mrs Tatton, a chef from St Helen's Avenue, off Skellingthorpe Road, Lincoln, said she had feared the worst.

"I came downstairs to get a drink, turned the kitchen light on and he was standing there," she told the Echo.

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"He shoved me up against the worktop, put a hand around my throat, hit the side of my face, grabbed a small vegetable knife and scraped it down my left arm. Luckily it just scratched me. He got away with nothing.

"He didn't say a word but it was so frightening. You don't expect to go downstairs to find a burglar in your house.

"I think I startled him. I was thinking, what did he want and what was he going to do.

"I was just grateful my 14-month-old daughter Gracie was staying at a relative's."

The burglar, who had sneaked in through an unlocked patio door, left empty-handed.

Husband Timothy Tatton, 26, a warehouse worker, slept through the incident.

"Amy came in the bedroom afterwards crying and holding her arm," he said. "She told me what had happened. My first thought was, 'Where is he?' I rushed downstairs to see if I could see anyone."

Police rushed to the house but the burglar had fled. They say the suspect is 5ft 7in tall, with short blond hair . He was wearing dark trousers and jacket.

Lincolnshire Police spokesman James Newall said between the beginning of April and the start of this month, 28 burglaries were carried out across the city via unlocked doors and windows, some while people were at home. He urged people to be more security-conscious.

Anyone with information about the June 20 burglary should call police on 101.