A man who broke into the house of an 82-year-old bodybuilder got more than he bargained for when she smashed a table over his head.

Willie Murphy, who lives alone in Rochester, New York, said she was getting ready for bed on Thursday when a man began knocking on the door and asking her to call an ambulance because he was unwell.

She called police, she said, and did not let him in, but some time later she heard a loud bang and realized he had broken through her door and into her home.

Ms Murphy told the Democrat And Chronicle newspaper that she hit the man with a table so hard that it broke – then squirted shampoo in his eyes and hit him with a broom.

“I was whaling on that man."

She told the newspaper:

“I said to myself, 'If it's my time to go to hell, I'm taking him with me!'"

When police arrived soon after, the intruder had to be taken to hospital.

Ms Murphy said the intruder had picked the wrong house.

She told the local 13 WHAM TV station:

“I'm alone and I'm old, but guess what? I'm tough."

Ms Murphy was already something of a local celebrity because of her bodybuilding exploits, having won competitions and featured in newspaper articles a number of times over the years.

According to local reports, she works out most days at a nearby YMCA and can deadlift more than 200 pounds.