Life sentence for serial sex attacker

One of the elderly victims of a serial burglar and rapist bravely faced him across a courtroom yesterday as he was jailed for life.

The 85-year-old spinster who was burgled and indecently assaulted by the depraved sexual predator, spoke of how she still suffers from her ordeal nearly nine years on.

Delroy Grant - dubbed the Night Stalker - was warned he may die in prison after being told he must spend at least 27 years behind bars for burgling and raping vulnerable pensioners in a 17-year reign of terror.

The former minicab driver was found guilty of preying on 18 elderly women and men - but police fear he may have had more than 500 victims.

The 53-year-old was confronted at London's Woolwich Crown Court by a woman he attacked at her bungalow in Shirley, Croydon, in October 2002.

The frail, white-haired pensioner, referred to as Miss J for legal reasons, courageously entered the witness box to describe the impact Grant's sick assault had on her life. Judge Peter Rook asked if her experiences at Grant's hands still affected her today.

She replied: "If I go out I like to be home before dark. I do a lot of locking and bolting, and taking precautions... It changed my life."