BRAVE Trowbridge great-grandmother Lucette Powell has revealed how she could easily have been the second victim of a killer who preyed on elderly people in their own homes.

Simon Taylor, 28, of Cardiff, was jailed for life last week after a jury took less than an hour to find him guilty of the murder of an 87-year-old woman.

The jury, at Cardiff Crown Court, heard how Taylor broke into the Cardiff home of Constance Davies and battered her about the head in a sudden and brutal attack. She died three months later.

Ten days after he struck in Wales, Taylor forced his way into his neighbour Mrs Powell's home in Trowbridge.

He thumped her repeatedly leaving her with two black eyes and needing stitches.

Mrs Powell, 77, applauded the sentence handed down.

She said: "Justice has now been done for what happened to Constance.

"I am happy he has been given life for what he did to that lovely lady not for what happened to me.

"I could have ended up like poor Constance but survived to tell the tale."

Taylor attacked his neighbour as Miss Davies lay dying in a hospital bed.

He rang the doorbell before grabbing her and asking where her handbag was.

Mrs Powell said: "He punched me in the face and I fell to the floor after I answered the door.

"He was no stranger. I knew him and he seemed to be a decent man.

"I was pushed back into the living room from the hallway and I was on my knees.

"He was very calm and was demanding my handbag.

"As he searched for it I jumped up and grabbed the phone.

"I dialled 999 and shouted to the police operator: 'I'm being attacked'.

"As I did, Taylor fled. He could easily have killed me."

Taylor had been living opposite Mrs Powell for several years.

The unsuspecting widow had no idea he had been terrorising elderly women in a string of burglaries across Britain.

She said she felt 'on top of the world' after giving the evidence which helped to convict him at Cardiff Crown Court.

Police linked the two crimes after matching DNA found on a sock in Mrs Powell's flowerbed with evidence found at the murder scene.

DCI Paul Kemp, from South Wales Police, said: "Mrs Powell has proved a very brave and valuable witness in this case.

"We will go on to ensure that people who commit crimes against the elderly are caught and punished."

At the time of her attack Mrs Powell spoke out in an attempt to help detectives catch the murderer.

Police believe that if Mrs Powell had not managed to call for help, the man could have killed her as well as Miss Davies.

Taylor searched her home looking for something to steal but fled empty handed.

She said at the time: "I want people to see what a heartless young thug can do to an old lady."

Police released a photograph of Mrs Powell's battered face to encourage witnesses to the attacks to come forward.

Killer to face long sentence

A MAN who brutally attacked a Wiltshire widow has been given a life sentence for the murder of a Cardiff woman who died after a similar attack.

A judge branded Simon Taylor "despicable" as he jailed him.

Frail pensioner Constance Davies died three months after Taylor brutally attacked her in her home.

He battered the 7st spinster around the head as he robbed her last August, stealing £350.

Police trapped Taylor using DNA found at a copy cat crime in Trowbridge, carried out 10 days later.

The Cardiff pensioner led police to her killer from her death-bed after giving a description of her attacker as she lay in agony in hospital.

Taylor, 28, admitted robbery but denied murder at Cardiff Crown Court.

It took a jury of six women and six men just 50 minutes to find him guilty of murder.

Judge Justice McKinnon sentenced Taylor to life and gave him 12 years for robbery.

He told Taylor: "Your mode of operation is to target elderly women in their own homes.

"Both women lived alone. You are no stranger to robbery.

"When you are not engaged in robbery and attempted robbery you have been a persistent burglar.

"They do speak volumes for the kind of man you are.

"For the offence of murder there is only one sentence I can pass and it is of life imprisonment.

"The robberies were despicable offences targeting elderly women in their own homes."

Stephen Hopkins QC, prosecuting, told how Taylor staked out Miss Davies' home for days before the attack.

The terrified pensioner was confronted by 13st Taylor in her hallway.

He battered the former legal secretary around the head until she was unconscious.