A convicted child molester who snatched a six-year-old girl as she played in her bath has been jailed for life.

Peter Voisey crept into the girl's home and grabbed her from the water where she was playing with her toys.

After putting a gloved hand over her mouth and warning her to stay silent Voisey bundled his terrified victim into his car, which was parked in the back lane.

The 35-year-old then took the girl on a 20 minute terror ride where he raped and sexually assaulted her before dumping her in a back lane 300 metres from her home.

The terrified youngster was found by neighbours naked and crying with blood running down her legs on the freezing cold night just two days after Christmas last year.

Voisey denied kidnap, rape and sexual assault throughout the three week trial but was found guilty of all charges by a jury.

Jurors had been told how he was already a registered sex offender who was jailed for attacking a 12-year-old girl at a leisure centre in Cheshire in 2001.

When he took the girl from the bath he was the subject of Multi-Agency Public Protection arrangements.

At Newcastle Crown Court yesterday Judge David Hodson told Voisey he must serve 10 years minus the time he has already spent in custody behind bars before he can apply for parole.

The judge told him: "She was, anyone might think, as safe as she could be in her own bath in her own house.

"No one would dream that she was in imminenet peril of being kidnapped.

"You, however, were lurking in the vicinity on the lookout for an opportunity to burgle premises and, it seems to me, to commit sexual offences if the chance arose.

"You sneaked in through an unlocked back door and you realised she was in the bath. You grabbed hold of her, put your hand over her mouth tyo stifle screams she might try to make and you went outside with her to your waiting car.

"What must have been going on in that little girl's mind as you did that is almost impossible to imagine.

"She must have been absolutely terrified, she must have feared for her life."

The judge said anyone could readily appreciate the thoughts which must have been running through the girl's mother's mind.

Voisey was told he may spend the rest of his life behind bars.

He shouted at the senior investigating officer on the case Det Chief Insp Jim Napier: "Napier, you know I'm innocent."

Judge Hodson said: "It is impossible to determine what possible long term effects the girl may be yet to endure."

He added: "I am in no doubt whatsoever that you are a dabgeorus predatory male.

"This is a most grave offence of kidnapping. This was a six-year-old girl being removed from her own bath in her own home and taken out into a cold night for the purposes of your sexual gratification.

"That more than justifies a sentence of life imprisonment. There is no mitigation and no remorse for what you have done.

"You will only be released into the community when the parole board consider it safe for you to be released.

"It may be you never will be released but that is a matter for others."