Police are making a Crimewatch appeal for help to catch a serial rapist who is thought to be responsible for 11 attacks on women over the last decade.

The case will feature on the BBC One programme broadcast at 2220 GMT on Tuesday, which will also mark newsreader Fiona Bruce's debut as a replacement for murdered presenter Jill Dando.

Detectives are seeking information that will lead to the arrest of the serial rapist, who often targets women parking their cars at knifepoint and, in the latest case, struck twice within 10 minutes.

The man is thought to be responsible for five rapes, a sex assault and several other attempted abductions dating back to May 1991.

All of the incidents, except for one in Bristol, occurred in Bath.

The attacker has a specific "hunting ground" near the centre of Bath and after breaking into women's cars often drives them to secluded areas outside of the city.

After he has raped the women, he drives them back to near where they were abucted.

Police hope someone will recognise the serial offender from the way he has attacked women, ripping their tights on a number of occasions. In one case he brought a pair with him.

The rapist last struck a year ago when he tried to abduct a 39-year-old woman after getting into her car, but his intended victim managed to escape and shout for help before the attacker ran off.

Ten minutes later, the same man is thought to have abducted a 40-year-old woman while parking her car.

She was driven to a secluded spot and attacked before being driven back to a spot close to where she had been abducted.

The suspect is described as a white man in his 30s, between 5ft 8in and 5ft 10in tall.

Racist letter campaign

Crimewatch will also feature a request for information about the case a racist letter campaigner who has targeted a number of high profile people.

Victims of the mail include MPs, members of the judiciary, journalists and police officers, including John Grieve, the head of the Metropolitan's Police's race and violent crime task force.

The author, who has been writing the letters for six years, signs himself WASPAWAN, an acronym for an offensive slogan against ethnic minorities.

A police spokeswoman said a team of officers attached to the racial and violent crime task force are investigating.

"There was a marked increase in the letters during April 1997 when a number of janitors at ballot stations were targeted," she said.

An expert from Leicester University, who built up a psychological profile of the writer, described him as "poorly educated and with an inferiority complex".

Anyone with information on either case should call police or should contact Crimewatch on 0800 555111.