A MAN suffered two broken ribs when he confronted an intruder at his home in York.

The man tackled the intruder, described as white, in his late teens or early twenties, about 5ft 10ins tall with stocky build and dark hair, in the back garden of his home in Horseman Lane, Copmanthorpe at about 9am yesterday.

The intruder, who was wearing a dark grey hooded top, jeans and white trainers, fled the scene and officers believe he headed in the direction of Copmanthorpe village or towards Hallcroft Lane.

North Yorkshire Police have urged anyone who saw the intruder or who was in the area at the time to contact them.

Det Sgt Matt Dodson, of York CID, said: “I am appealing to anyone who saw a man running from the scene of this incident or through Copmanthorpe on Friday morning to get in touch with the police or Crimestoppers.

“It is believed that the suspect may have sustained some injuries in the incident, so I would also ask people to come forward if they know of anyone who came home with any unexplained injuries on Friday.”

The incident happened just a week after police warned homeowners of a rise in burglaries in Copmanthorpe, Poppleton and Haxby, and one resident of Horseman Lane said he had bought extra security for his home after the attack, despite already owning security lights and an alarm system.

He said: “There were two burglaries fairly recently in St Nicholas’ Crescent and Merchant Way in one afternoon – it’s worrying isn’t it. My neighbour was burgled and next door but one also, but by all accounts, according to police, it’s a problem at the moment.

“I went out straight away this morning after I heard and bought extra D-locks to put over our patio doors in case people try to snap our locks on the doors.”

Anyone with information should phone North Yorkshire Police on 101, email matt.dodson@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk or YorkCID@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk or phone Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.