'Utterly contemptuous' sex attacker abducted woman at cashpoint, dragged her onto wasteland and raped her

Callum Barclay approached the victim and sexually assaulted her as she withdrew money from a Hartlepool ATM at night.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the brute then "got rid" of the two male friends she was with, using threats, intimidation and violence, so he could isolate and rape the woman on wasteland behind some shops.

Her companions, however, called the police and they tracked her down while she was being attacked after she made a noise during her struggle.

Barclay, 25, of Stephen Street, Hartlepool, was earlier convicted by a jury of rape and two counts of sexual assault.

He was also found guilty of assault in relation to one of the men, whose lip he split with a punch, and admitted unrelated charges of assault and theft.

Passing sentence, Judge Christopher Prince said Barclay, who has previous convictions for violence and animal cruelty, poses a "high risk of causing serious harm to members of the public" and locked him up for 15 years.

Judge Prince said the victim and her friends were "thoroughly decent young people who were utterly honest" whereas Barclay was "quick to anger" and "utterly contemptuous" towards them during the trial.

Judge Prince told Barclay: "You decided you were going to get rid of them so you could commit offences against the complainant. You decided you were going to do whatever it took to isolate her from those who had gone with her to protect her."

The woman said the attack "changed my life" and she now worries about going out.

She added in an impact statement: "I just feel the streets are not safe. I only sleep when I'm exhausted, which affects me on a daily basis. I was frightened in case he got out. When I was told he had been found guilty it was a massive relief, a huge weight off my shoulders."

The court heard Barclay's previous offending includes violence and he once beat someone's pet rabbit to death.