A young woman has spoken out about the terrifying moment when she was hit over the head with a brick wielded by a non-Muslim man in a black burka as she walked home at midnight.

Hong Nguyen chased the 23-year-old along Cairns Avenue, a residential road near Streatham Park on December 6 before smashing her on the head with a brick from behind, hitting her on her forehead and in the eye.

On Friday,Nguyen, originally from Waltham Forest in north-east London, pleaded guilty to attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.

Nguyen was seen patrolling the streets of Mitcham wearing a burka and carrying a plastic bag on several occasions between December and February.

Speaking today, the Rowan Park woman, who does not want to be named, said: "I'd just got off a bus at about quarter to midnight.

"I walked down my main road and then I saw him at a distance and I thought it was quite odd because it was freezing that night and I was wrapped up in a giant coat and he was just wearing a burka.

"I walked just another 100 metres and I had a weird feeling. I had my hood up and took it down and the next thing I knew he was running towards me.

"I put my hood down because I couldn't hear anything and then I heard a pat, pat, pat of his footsteps running at me and before I could turn around and look he had his hand on my shoulder.

"He grabbed my shoulder with his left hand and struck my head, on my forehead near my hairline and then on my eye."

"After he hit me a second time he pushed me over and because I was shaken I fell and I had a really big backpack on and it was packed full of stuff and he pinned me with his whole body and I couldn't even bring my legs around him because everything was so restricted.

"I was doing my best to struggle and I managed to get one hand free.

"He had me pinned on my side so I couldn't see him because he was behind my back. I got my arm free and grabbed his head scarf and pulled it off and grabbed his hair.

"He was strangling me at that point but then he ran away because my neighbour heard me screaming when I could and he poked his head out of the window and said, 'Oi!'."

Asked if she feared for her life, she said: "I thought it was more of a mugging but then when he started strangling me, I was like, now they are trying to kill me?

"I wasn't really sure what was happening, I thought I was going to pass out, I was so shocked."

The woman, who lives with her parents, fled home and her mother called an ambulance.

She was treated at St George's Hospital in Tooting, and was left with such severe bruising and swelling she could not open her eye for two weeks.

Fortunately, no bones were broken but she is still scared to go out at night and could not sleep for several months after the attack.

"I couldn't sleep at all [before he was caught]", she said.

"I'd be too scared of shutting my eyes and anything black freaked me out because he was dressed all in black but it's better now because I have really good support from friends and family and I'm grateful that I'm still alive.

"It could have been so much worse."

Nguyen, who police originally thought was a woman because of his long hair and slim build, was not caught until three months later, when a group of residents spotted him patrolling the estate with a bag containing a hammer and pinned him down after a short chase.

Chief Superintendent Stuart Macleod said: "I would like to formally record my thanks to the alert members of the public for tackling this man and detaining him."

Nguyen was charged in February with causing grievous bodily harm in Cairns Avenue in December and carrying an offensive weapon in Toblin Mews on February 10.

The grievous bodily harm charge was later changed to attempted grievous bodily harm.

It is understood he moved to Mitcham two years ago after leaving his family home in Waltham Forest where he had been a performance arts student.

His brother, Vu Nguyen, said: "We haven't really heard anything from him until he was in court so it was quite a shock to us to hear what actually happened."

Describing his brother's personality he said: "He's friendly, polite, so to be honest I don't know what actually happened. It's really, really strange."

Nguyen is due to be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on July 2.

A Residents of Rowan Park (RORP) spokesman wrote on Facebook: "RORP would also like to express their thanks to the quick-thinking residents for their actions.

"This goes to show that Rowan Park is a great and safe community to live in with residents who look out for one another and will not tolerate this or any other wrong doings."