A RAPIST who attacked a young mother in a copycat attack from a video nasty was jailed for ten years yesterday.

Stephen Riley, 22, broke into the 23-year-old's home at night and raped her as her two young children slept in the next room.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how Riley was copying the plot of the film Complex of Fear, which centres around an identical attack on a young woman in America.

The court heard how he got into the house in Cowgate, Newcastle, through a broken window - which the victim had asked the council to fix two weeks earlier, but got no response.

The woman woke to find a man holding a knife to her throat and was subjected to an hour-long assault.

Robin Patton, prosecuting, told the court: "Her heart told her to shout out, but she had to concern herself with the safety of her children because this man was armed with a knife in her bedroom."

Riley was trapped by a DNA match.

Mr Patton said that a copy of Complex of Fear was found during a search of his home. It tells how a man stalks and rapes a woman while her child is asleep in the next room.

Riley, of Houghton Avenue, Cowgate, pleaded guilty to rape and burglary with intent to rape.

His barrister, Jamie Adams, said: "He is ashamed and deeply regrets what he did."

Judge Tim Hewitt sentenced Riley to ten years behind bars, with another five years extension on his licence period on release. He will be registered as a sex offender for life.

Speaking afterwards, his victim said: "He has turned my life upside down."