A RAPIST who attacked a schoolgirl in his car after driving her to a secluded spot has been jailed for nine years.

His teenage victim hit and tried to push Trevor Thompson off her - but he held her by her hands and arms and raped her despite her protests, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Thompson, who had earlier offered the young girl and her a friend a lift, then attempted to wipe away the evidence with a plastic carrier bag, telling the victim: "I wouldn’t want the wife to find out".

The late evening attack in the Richmond area of North Yorkshire in 1997 was reported to police a year later but the victim was persuaded not to pursue her complaint.

It was only years after when she confided in family and friends that a rape charge was brought against Thompson, now aged 43, who was convicted after a trial.

Judge Simon Phillips said Thompson, of Queen Anne's Drive, Bedale - who has previous convictions for battery and setting a fire in a hospital - had carried out a “rough attack” on a vulnerable girl.

He compared the victim's tiny frame with stocky Thompson who, he said, demeaned and humiliated her and also taunted her when he saw her afterwards.

In a lengthy statement the victim - now an adult – said every day of her life became a nightmare and she had contemplated suicide.

“I was a happy carefree girl and he destroyed that,” she said.

The victim said she felt dirty and embarrassed and was haunted by flashbacks and recurring bad dreams. The attack had also robbed her of her confidence and self-esteem and affected her relationships since.

Kieron Rainey, for Thompson, who now uses a wheelchair, said he was reliant on carers because of poor health - triggered by a stroke which had paralysed his left side.

The barrister said he was not the same man who committed the rape adding: "It will not be an easy punishment for him to go to jail and it will have a life shortening effect.”

As well as being jailed, Thompson was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order.

Detective Constable Sarah Jobe, of North Yorkshire Police, welcomed the sentence and said the public were now protected from Thompson's “despicable” behaviour.

She said: “Nothing can erase the harm that he has caused, however I hope it brings some comfort to the victim knowing that he is now facing a long time in prison.”