Rapist given home leave strikes again

STRICTER controls on parole were demanded yesterday after a court heard how a man serving life for rape indecently assaulted a 23-year-old woman while on home leave from prison.

Trevor Hanson, 48, described as a 'Jekyll and Hyde' character, attacked his victim in a car park and half-throttled her, Bristol Crown Court was told. He was captured 36 hours later and was yesterday sentenced to six years - his fourth jail term.

Dawn Primarolo, MP for Bristol South, said after the case: 'I will be asking the Home Secretary to look into home visits as a matter of urgency. And I will be calling for a review of how the issue of leave for convicted rapists is treated by the prison authorities.'

A spokeswoman for Bristol Women's Centre said: 'What are the prison's authorities priorities? To ensure the safety of women or get people like him back on the streets?'

A spokeswoman for the Home Office's prison services department said: 'We are just about to produce a report on home leave . . . It includes a new framework for the system of home leave.'