Nun says rapist should 'rot in hell'

And the 37-year-old Essex nun revealed the rapist returned to the alleyway where she was attacked.

She has needed two emergency operations for internal injuries.

"I've said to friends I hate him and hope he rots in hell and I'm not a violent person.

"I don't believe in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but I feel so angry. I cry an awful lot as well".

The woman was attacked after going to a Christmas party for a homeless charity, where she works in central London, on December 21.

Apparently she was assaulted with a broken bottle or knife before being found just before 1am in Finsbury Park, north London, covered in blood and hysterical.

She said: "I can remember the fear. It was so painful. I remember begging him to stop. And I do remember that he went away and came back. I could hear his footsteps coming back".

She has no idea how long she lay there and said she suffered from panic attacks in hospital and has become increasingly obsessed with tidiness.

"It's not just the fact I was raped. The person injured me physically too, and I won't be able to lead a very active lifestyle for a good many months.

"That's why I feel angry. There was so much I was about to do for the homeless in the New Year and now, because of the injuries, I won't be able to.

"I'm determined not to let him take my life away - that belongs to Christ."

The woman, who moved to London from Essex to be nearer the homeless with whom she worked as a volunteer, just two weeks before her ordeal.

She has been able to give police a description for a computer image of her attacker - which matches the description of a vagrant who had been staying nearby.

He is described as white, about 6ft, with short hair and of athletic build. He was wearing dark clothing.

Anyone with information should contact Det Con Kevin Macmillan at Holloway CID, 0181 345 1528.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.