16 November 2010 Last updated at 07:50 ET

Woman hurt in Derbyshire car theft 'acted on instinct'

Mrs Burrows tried to stop the thief but was pushed to the ground

A Derbyshire woman injured in a car theft said she had acted instinctively when she tried to stop the man from stealing her vehicle.

Jean Burrows, 66, from Somercotes, who left her keys in the car, was dragged down the road and suffered facial injuries in the robbery on 13 November.

"I ran around to get keys out the car and he just jumped in and kept pushing me," Mrs Burrows said.

Police are investigating and are asking anyone with information to call them.

Car abandoned

"You just automatically think: 'He is not having my car'. He started pushing me and he pushed me hard," she said.

Mrs Burrows was dragged along for a few metres by her black Volvo estate which had been parked on Birchwood Lane, police said.

"He must have pushed me on the road because all my left side was bleeding."

The car was later found abandoned in Alfreton, Derbyshire

Derbyshire police, who initially said Mrs Burrows was aged 70, are checking it for DNA.

The attacker is described as a mixed race, unshaven and wearing a grey-green hooded top.