HOME Secretary Charles Clarke has promised to review the case of a millionaire sex offender who has been living anonymously at taxpayers' expense on a North-East housing estate for the past six months.

Convicted rapist Iorworth Hoare, who hit the headlines earlier this year when he won a £7m Lotto jackpot, was spirited away from his safe house, in Sunderland, after his identity was revealed in yesterday's Sun newspaper.

The 52-year-old, jailed for life in 1989 for the attempted rape of a Leeds schoolteacher, was released from prison in March and has since been living in Holborn Road, near the Pennywell area of the city.

Mr Clarke said: "I have asked my department to look at the details of this particular case and some of the broader issues it raises.

"I fully understand the concerns that have been raised by this case and want to examine how this and similar cases are managed and financed to decide whether any changes are necessary."

Yesterday, the two-storey corner house was empty and neighbours expressed their revulsion that pervert Hoare had been living in their community.

One young mother, who asked not to be named, said: "It has been a big shock for us - I am just beginning to get my head around it."

Resident Alfie Wyatt, 55, said: "It's a disgrace. It's a very busy street where people mingle with each other and to think he is in the midst of it is terrifying. He has got £7m and yet this is all being paid for - it is scandalous."

Despite his riches, the house where divorced Hoare lived since his release was far from a millionaire's pad - the unkempt gardens were strewn with rubbish and a cooker had been dumped in the back garden.

However, Hoare had recently splashed out almost £10,000 on a sculpture at the National Glass Centre - depicting a man's suit made from clear glass, with the crotch torn and smeared with a circle of blood.

A spokesperson for the National Glass Centre said yesterday: "We attract 100,000 visitors a year. It is impossible to vet all members of the public who visit the National Glass Centre, or those who buy pieces of art."

The Sun claimed it was costing taxpayers £10,000 a month to protect Hoare - a figure said by the Home Office to be greatly exaggerated.

North East Conservative MEP Martin Callanan said: "The people of Sunderland will be amazed this man is being protected in their midst after winning all this money.

"This is totally appalling. Someone who is so wealthy should have no need for state protection."

Clare Phillipson, director of refuge Wearside Women In Need, said it was infuriating that taxpayers were paying to protect a rapist with a string of convictions dating back more than 30 years.

She said: "We could do a tremendous amount of good with that £10,000 a month."

"The positive thing is that he has lost his anonymity.

"Too often, the criminal justice system protects the offenders and I do not believe that is what the public wants."