POLICE hope an attack of conscience may force someone to come forward with fresh clues to a brutal rape in Burnley .

A £500 reward is still on offer to catch the beast who dragged a teenager into an alleyway in the early hours of Saturday, April 24 last year.

Now, almost on the eve of the anniversary of the assault, police hope someone with information which they have been holding back may come forward with the vital clue that could crack the case.

Det Sgt Peter Simm said: "The inquiry is still on-going and we are determined to catch the man responsible no matter how long it takes."

He added: "At the time our inquiries were focused on the area but we cannot rule out that the man responsible was not someone who lived locally.

"We need the public's help. Now, 12 months later, maybe someone who knows something and who has had this pulling on his or her strings of conscience may feel they can make contact.

"It must be an awful thing to be preying on someone's conscience for all that time. This girl went through an awful ordeal." Det Sgt Simm added: "Since the attack new people may have moved into the area who have suspicions about someone they have seen answering the description. We would like to hear from anyone with any information."

The 18-year-old victim was severely traumatised by the terrifying attack by a man smelling of sweat and stale cigarettes as she made her way home from Burnley town centre .

She is still receiving visits from the police family support unit.

The officer leading police inquires at the time, Detective Inspector Dave Lea, described it as a harrowing and terrifying ordeal.

The attack happened in an alleyway near the Manor Barn pub, off Padiham Road. Three weeks later a 39-year-old woman was attacked in the same area at 2.20am. She was strong enough to fight off the sex fiend who police believe may have been the same man.

The teenager's ordeal began after she became separated from her friends and decided to take a taxi home

She was dropped off in Padiham Road near Middlesex Avenue at 1.30am.

As she waited for her boyfriend to arrive, she was snatched from the street and forced into the alleyway and put through a prolonged sex ordeal.

She was taken about 200 yards along a busy main road to the alleyway, a journey timed at two minutes, in full view of traffic on the dual carriageway. She then went a friend's home at 2.15am and raised the alarm.

Her attacker was white, 5ft 8ins to 5ft 10ins, in his late 20s or early 30s, medium build, with dark hair and stubble. He was wearing dark clothing and black shoes.

Other attacks on women in the area may have been by the same offender.

Police believed the sex attacker may have been living rough in the area between Burnley and Padiham. They set up an incident room which was manned for months. Dozens of officers spent thousands of hours carrying out extensive investigations until inquiries had to be wound down but not wound up.

Anyone with information is asked to ring Burnley CID on 01282 425001 or contact Crimestoppers in anonymity on 0800 555111.