A woman was shot in the face by a gunman who broke into her home.

Armed police swarmed around a bungalow in Chesham Drive, Laindon, on Wednesday morning, after a 55-year-old woman was punched to the floor and then shot with an airgun in a random attack by a stranger.

The woman, named locally as Sue Smith, was airlifted to St George’s Hospital, in Tooting, to undergo surgery amid fears she could lose her eye or go blind.

Neighbours told the Echo that Mrs Smith, whose husband works away for a lorry firm, ran from her home screaming and clutching her face in agony, after the terrifying attack at 8am.

Her neighbour Hannah White, 19, said: “I was in my room and the dog started barking, it was kind of a screeching – it was different to normal and I knew something was wrong.

“Sue was banging on the door and she was holding her eye in a panic.

“I asked her what had happened and she said she had been shot in the eye.

“She said she had got out of the shower and as she opened the door to go out, this guy has jumped out from behind the door.

“He told her to get down on the floor and as she got halfway, he punched her in the face and knocked her to the ground.

“She then said he shot her in the face and he ran out of the front door.

“She had no idea who he was.”

When Miss White answered the door, she said that Mrs Smith’s eye was “a mess”.

She said: “You couldn’t see her pupil, it looked like messy flesh.”

Workman Dion Konstantino was in the street replacing the gas mains. He said: “It was about 8am and I was sitting in my lorry when I heard a woman crying.

“I looked out my window and I saw the lady in her dressing grown, she was banging on the door.

“I called out the window, ‘are you all right?’ and she said she had been shot in the face.

“I went to help. She took her hand away and there was a lot of blood, she couldn’t open her eye.

“We were trying to comfort her. She was doing really well.

She was sweating, she was in shock.”

Police have no idea on the motive behind the attack.

Det Sgt Richard Burgess, of Basildon CID, said: “This is a particularly unusual incident with no clear motive.

“It appears from the scene that the suspected jemmied open the front door and encountered the woman when she came out of her bathroom.

“After first punching the woman in the face and then shooting a pellet at her, he has then fled the house.

“I am urging anyone who saw a man running along Chesham Drive at around 8am to contact my team as soon as possible.

“There is nothing to suggest anyone should be fearful that this man should strike again.

“Local officer patrols will be stepped up in the surrounding areas to offer reassurance to residents.”

The gunman is still on the run. The weapon has been described as a small, square, boxy-shaped handgun.

The man was in his midtwenties, 5ft 6ins tall, of slim build with brown hair. He also had an Eastern European accent.

Anyone with information can call Det Con Nick May on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.