Rape case 'will never be closed'

The man was not found despite Crimewatch appeals

The search for a man who raped and attacked a 16-year-old girl exactly two years ago will never be called off, detectives have warned.

The teenager was left for dead near an underpass in Paston, Peterborough, and remained unconscious for weeks.

Despite house-to-house enquiries by Cambridgeshire police and a reconstruction of the attack on the BBC Crimewatch programme, the rapist has not been caught.

On Tuesday the girl's family appealed for anyone protecting the man to come forward.

Head injuries

They said: "He has left a young girl with permanent injuries and he left her to die and it was only by chance that she was found and is here with us today."

The girl was attacked between 1830 GMT and 1900 GMT on 10 December 2000.

She was found lying on a path just off Crabtree by a passerby.

She had suffered severe head injuries, probably after being hit with a blunt instrument.

Police collected DNA samples from men in the area, and conducted house-to-house enquiries.

Detective Chief Inspector Dick Harrison said the rapist's DNA profile has been fed into the national database.

"It is only a matter of time before justice is done," he said.

A £10,000 reward is still on offer to anyone who gives information leading to the arrest and charge of the man responsible.