Girl confirmed as rapist's 10th victim

Police now say the rapist is at the centre of the biggest manhunt since the Yorkshire Ripper.

Over the last year he has carried out a string of attacks on women and girls aged from 10 to 52 years old.

One senior officer warned women not to wear headphones while walking in secluded areas to prevent them being grabbed unawares.

The attacker is sometimes called the "Trophy Rapist" - because he takes items such as mobile phones or clothes from his victims.

Detective Chief Inspector Tim Stevens, from Hertfordshire Police, said the latest attack, on a footpath near a school on Friday evening, was "horrific".

The teenage victim told police she had feared for her life during her 20-minute ordeal.

Her attacker grabbed her after running up behind her on a secluded path before dragging her into dense brambles - which may have scratched the attacker.

Mr Stevens said: "We are asking people - did your partner or husband return home marked or dishevelled.

"Have they been acting strangely since?"

He also appealed for a woman walking a white dog and also a moped driver to come forward.

Joined forces

The girl said her attacker was a stocky middle-aged white man smelling of smoke - fitting the description of the previous attacks.

He always strikes from behind in wooded areas with footpaths running between residential areas.

More than 100 officers from five police forces in Kent, London, Surrey, Hertfordshire and Thames Valley have joined forces to catch the rapist in a special venture called Operation Orb.

Assistant Chief Commissioner David Kelly of Kent Police said at a press conference: "I guess it probably is the biggest investigation into a rapist."

He said there had been more than 1,000 responses from the public, adding: "My team are ploughing through those but we do have a number of active lines of inquiry."

North-east accent

He said the attacker always strikes in areas which are commonly used and appealed to people to take precautions.

"If women and girls do use these kinds of areas they should be accompanied and remain alert, and do simple things like not using headphones," he added.

Mr Kelly said the description of the man was sketchy.

Detectives are also looking at a theory that the attacker, who has been reported as speaking with a Geordie accent, may live in the north but work in the south during the week.