A SERIAL sex offender who carried out a string of sinister' attacks on two young girls over a number of years has been jailed for 13 years.

David Russell, 44, of Blackburn but of no fixed address, was imprisoned after earlier pleading guilty to the three counts of raping a woman over 16, three counts of raping a girl under 13 and gross indecency with a girl under 16.

Police chiefs investigating the case said his victims were systematically abused over a number of years at a house in Blackburn - abuse which began more than 20 years ago.

Police say they were first alerted to the attacks after one of his victims, claimed she had been sexually assaulted in a Blackburn town centre pub.

However during the investigation detectives said it soon became clear that the attack hadn't happened and that the claim was a cry for help.' The other victim, who is now 37, also confessed what had happened to officers investigating the case in February last year.

Russell was then arrested and bailed pending further police inquiries.

However he then went on the run from police and was later found in Carlisle on November 7 where he was then charged and remanded until the hearing at Preston Crown Court earlier this week.

Detective Sergeant Paul Ryan, of Blackburn CID, who has been working on the case for the past two years, said: "It's a significant sentence for somebody who was clearly a serial sex offender, having committed the most horrendous crimes against two vulnerable victims.

"The case came to light as a result of a completely unrelated incident and it was largely due to the work done by experienced detectives which uncovered these sinister crimes which have been a burden with these two individuals for many many years.

"The claim about the sexual assault in the pub was clearly a cry for help.

"Hopefully the sentence handed to Russell may give some form of relief to the victims who, to a certain degree may be able to now put these incidents behind them."