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Night-Stalker Is 'Every Woman's Nightmare'

Night-Stalker Is 'Every Woman's Nightmare'

Night-stalker rapist Clive Howard, who admitted attacking at least six women, has been jailed as a judge described him as "every woman's living nightmare".

The 57-year-old, from Stowmarket, Suffolk, attacked the women in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge over nearly 30 years.

He was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years and three months at Norwich Crown Court after earlier admitting seven counts of rape, three of attempted kidnap and one of attempted rape.

Detectives revealed that over the past month, 15 women who were worried they might have been attacked by Howard had come forward.

Mechanic Howard, of Bury Street, Stowmarket, Suffolk, sobbed as his 23-year-old final victim read a powerful statement to the court.

She said: "Because of you, my body is now worthless to me.

"You took away my control and because of you my body is now an inanimate object with no worth.

"I wanted to throw up as I recounted what you did to me."

She also described her struggles with anxiety, self-harm and an eating disorder since the attack in Norwich on 30 May last year.

Another of the rapist's victims told the court she attempted suicide and others gave similarly harrowing accounts.

Police eventually caught Howard after the 23-year-old victim described his Volvo car to them and they found CCTV footage which showed him circling Norwich searching for lone women.

Further investigations and DNA evidence revealed he had attacked two women on 5 May 2013 and another two on 15 February 2014 in Cambridge.

It later emerged that he raped a further woman in Suffolk six times, beginning in 1986.

In one of the 2013 attacks in Cambridge, the woman Howard targeted fought back and during the struggle, DNA became lodged under the victim's fingernail that was eventually used to link him to the Norwich case.

Sentencing, Judge Stephen Holt told him: "There was clearly a significant degree of planning and targeting. All of the victims' statements show a similar pattern of how terrified they were and the ongoing effect this has had."

Outside court, Det Sgt Chris Burgess said Howard had six children from a marriage 15 years ago but had no contact with them and has lived with his parents since his marriage broke down.

The detective added: "He is a very dangerous man - he was a sexual predator and people will be safer with him behind bars."