Victim of Moor attacker tells of her lonely ordeal

The 52-year-old spoke about her ordeal of almost a month ago and the mental torture' she has since endured, as part of a national appeal on BBC One's Crimewatch programme.

The woman, who remains anonymous, recounted the terrifying moments as she was approached by the man as she walked her two dogs close to the Panorama Reservoir on June 26 at around 4pm, before being chased, knocked to the ground and threatened with a knife.

She grabbed and broke his knife during the struggle, but he beat her unconscious, inflicting severe facial injuries, while telling her to stop screaming because there was no-one else around to hear. She later came round to find the attacker had gone.

Police believe she had been left for dead on the moor by her attacker. Medical tests have been inconclusive as to whether or not the woman was sexually assaulted whilst unconscious.

BBC One last night screened a reconstruction of the attack and appealed nationally for information on the attacker's identity.

The same man is wanted by police for the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Leeds nine years ago which also led to a Crimewatch appeal. The victim of this attack also spoke out for the first time in last night's programme.

A Crimewatch spokesman said there were fears the attacker might have been hiding out in another part of the country and possibly committing other offences during this time.

The Ilkley victim's account reveals for the first time full horror of the attack.

She told how the man approached suddenly behind her. Her dog was trying to be friendly with the man, but she began to feel anxious, and called her pet away.

As soon as the dog came to her, she ran away, but he ran after her, grabbed her and pulled out a knife.

She said she was thrown to the ground and the attacker sat across her and put the knife to her throat.

The victim said: "I thought he's going to slit my throat', so I reached out and grabbed hold of the knife, I got hold of the blade with my hand and managed to stop him cutting my throat. He pulled on the handle and I pulled on the blade."

She told of her brief moment of relief when the blade came away from the handle of the knife, and she tried in vain to stab him in self-defence, then hid the knife blade under her body to stop him retrieving it.

The attacker then started hitting her head and her temples, and she screamed repeatedly.

She said: "So I just screamed and screamed. He said you can shut up, there's no-one around, I've looked carefully, we're alone. And I looked down the moor and I thought oh my God, there is no-one around.

"And then he put his hands around my neck and started to strangle me and I could feel that, I could feel that I was going. But then for some reason he stopped strangling me and the agenda seemed to be changing then."

Thinking he was trying to rob her, she offered him her watch, but he told her he did not want her watch.

She told how she again began screaming and felt something go around her neck.

"I thought I'm dying now', because the white clouds came, I thought I'm going to die, and I'm never going to see anybody again." she said. "I thought that was it." She told Crimewatch she could not believe why anyone would want to hurt another person in such a cold-blood calculated and unfrenzied' way.

"It was as if he was hitting a piece of wood with a hammer, that was about as emotional as that when he was thumping his fist into my skull and I don't think that I will ever be able to get over that," she said.

Detective Superintendent Paul Kennedy, of West Yorkshire Police's Homicide and Major Inquiry Team, was expected to appear on the programme making an appeal for information, and forensic scientist Kathy Turner was also interviewed.

Anyone with information on the attacker is asked to telephone the Keighley Police hotline on (01535) 617107, (01535) 617082, telephone the Crimestoppers line on (0800) 555111, or text 07786 200806 starting the message with the word Ilkley'.