THE former wife of a stalker-rapist, who planned to bury his victim in a shallow grave, spoke for the first time last night about her years of hell.

The mother-of-three told of her guilt for not reporting to police his vicious attacks on her and said she wanted to apologise to Anthony Graham's victims.

In an exclusive interview with The Northern Echo, the woman told of her 18-year nightmare living with the violent former chef in Billingham, near Stockton.

The 45-year-old, who asked not to be named, was at Teesside Crown Court on Friday to see Graham jailed for life for two horrific attacks last October.

He raped and threatened to ditch a woman's body in a hole on the moors, and left a man with permanent brain damage after smashing his skull with a hammer.

Judge Peter Bowers branded the 47-year-old "a significant danger" and told him he will be freed from prison only when the Parole Board think it is safe to do so.

Following the case, his tearful former partner told the Echo: "Even after all he put me through, I never thought he was capable of doing what he did to those two people. It was absolutely sickening to hear it.

"I have three kids, aged between 17 and 24, and they are devastated by what their father did. They want everyone to know they are ashamed of him.

"They felt so bad that they wanted to write to the lady involved and say how sorry they are that their dad did that to her."

She added: "He made my life a nightmare. I'm glad he's behind bars and I hope he stays there for good. I needed to be here today to see it happen."

The court heard how Graham suffered a brain tumour and had surgery in June 2012 - but an expert said it could not be said if it affected his behaviour.

During the brutal attacks, Graham told the woman he was going to bury her on the moors - where a grave had already been prepared by a man he had paid £2,500.

The victim told of her terror as she was snatched from her home in Redcar, east Cleveland, tied up and sexually attacked by "wild-eyed" Graham late at night.

Graham dragged the woman in her pyjamas, dressing gown and bare feet to his mother's bungalow a quarter of a mile away, and threatened to murder her.

He also lay in wait for the woman's friend - who he wrongly believed was her lover - and left him with brain damage after the hammer attack days later.

Caroline Goodwin, prosecuting, said Graham had a "fixation" or "obsession" with his victim, and spied on her through the windows of her home for hours.

The judge told him "overwhelming evidence" would have convicted him, and it was "only when you heard the strength of the prosecution case that you decided to plead guilty".

When he was on remand in prison, Graham was caught out by a secret police recording boasting to his brother about the "cowardly" hammer attack.

The court heard how the male victim has a permanent brain injury and will have lifelong problems understanding language and making himself understood.

He has epilepsy as a result of the attack, is in a wheelchair, is fed through a tube, needs constant nursing, and will never fully recover, said Miss Goodwin.

Graham, of Doxford Walk, Middlesbrough, admitted rape and causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and was told he will have to serve a minimum of ten years.

In a statement, the woman said: "It stripped me of my dignity. My life has been destroyed by a man who I can't even bring myself to call by his name."

The male victim's son said in his statement: "Although he did not die as a result of the attack, his life has essentially been taken away from him in any case."