TWO women have described the terrifying moment they were attacked from behind by a bare-chested robber with a crazed look in his eyes . Basia Lejonvarn and Rose Catt were giving evidence at the trial of Barry Silburn, who has been charged with four count

TWO women have described the terrifying moment they were attacked from behind by a bare-chested robber "with a crazed look in his eyes".

They were giving evidence at the trial of Barry Silburn, who has been charged with four counts of robbery and one of attempted robbery in Parkland Walk.

Talking behind a screen, one woman told Wood Green Crown Court on Monday, that she "sensed" someone was behind her as she returned from a lunchtime stroll with Ms Catt.

She said she looked around to see a tall, bare-chested black man marching aggressively towards them.

She said: "At first I was uncomfortable about letting him past.

"Within seconds he grabbed me by the back of my head and took his weight, shoving me into the bushes."

She said she looked up to see that her attacker was also holding her friend's hair.

"He told us give us everything you've got" she said, adding: "I was so scared."

The other woman opened her bag but it only contained a half-eaten sandwich, sunglasses and car keys. The witness then emptied her own bag onto the ground and told him: "take my wallet, take my wallet".

The robber ordered her to take the money out and then fled with £40 cash in the direction of Finsbury Park.

She said: "I was so relieved to be alive."

The second woman described feeling "immediate fear" when the man attacked her from behind; and pain pulsating through her head as he yanked her hair twice.

She said: "The image I have is of a very big man with no top on, approaching us. He had a crazed look in his eye."

She added: "He was a very big, frightening man and I thought he was going to really, really hurt us."

Jonathan Wright, prosecuting, told the jury that Silburn is standing trial for three other robberies. He said that during the course of the six-day trial, they would hear accounts of how Silburn, 42, allegedly attacked two other women on May 31 of this year and robbed them.

He has also been charged with robbing a man on July 7.

"The attacks were stealthy and sudden," he said.

Silburn of Stacey Street, N7, denies four counts of robbery and one of attempted robbery on the Parkland Walk, between May 31 and July 7, this year.

He has pleaded not guilty to all five charges. The trial continues.