A SEX attacker has been jailed for life for raping a schoolgirl at knifepoint just 90 minutes after sexually assaulting another teenager.

Martin Eatough, 24, of Mitton Street, Oswaldtwistle, struck in Blackburn town centre last June.

Sentencing him, Judge Edward Slinger said he had "terrified and humiliated" the rape victim.

He said: "The circumstances of these offences are of the type which every woman dreads early hours of the morning, a woman walking by herself is suddenly attacked."

Eatough denied the charges in a police interview, but pleaded guilty to rape, attempted rape, kidnap with intent to rape and sexual assault at an earlier hearing at Preston Crown Court.

Changes to the law, brought in by the Sexual Offences Act 2003, mean that some sex offences, inc-luding rape and attempted rape, can now carry a life sentence.

Judge Slinger said this was appropriate because of the seriousness of the rape offence, but also because a psychiatric report suggested there was a significant risk of Eatough committing further very serious offences in the future.

He will not be eligible for parole for three years and 99 days and will remain on licence for life and on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

He has also been banned from carrying a knife in public or working with children.

Judge Slinger added: "He is concerned that even with active assistance and treatment, any gains are likely to be minimal because violent sexual offending usually stems from ingrained, deviant sexual attitudes."

The court heard that Eatough's first victim, a 19-year-old, fought him off after he followed her as she walked home from a nightclub in the early hours.

Less than two hours later he pursued his second victim, a 15-year-old.

Simon Mintz, prosecuting, said the defendant grabbed her from behind, held a knife to her throat and marched her to wasteland near Sumner Street.

He forced her to remove her clothes, performed a sex act on her, then raped her.

The court heard that a police appeal for information in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph and other local media brought the other victim forward.

Mr Mintz said someone recognised the description of the defendant and contacted the police with their concerns after he had changed his appearance by cutting his hair and removing his mouth piercing just days after the attacks.

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Inspector Jim Elston said: "He has shown no remorse and his guilty plea only came as a result of the overwhelming evidence against him."