A sex-assault victim has bravely waived her legal right to anonymity to urge other women to seek help after the man who attacked her was jailed this week.

Larraine Nicholls believes many women are too guilt-ridden to report attacks.

Larraine, 55, of Bradford, says the attack on her “will live with me until my death”.

She says she can never look at people in the same way and will never be the person she was before she was attacked.

But Larraine wants to encourage women – and men – to report sex crimes, and said there was help and support for them.

Thomas Hartley, 59, of Cemetery Road, Lidget Green, Bradford, was jailed for five years and four months on Monday after pleading guilty to sexual assault.

He had been cruising in his white van and offered Larraine a lift as she walked home from hospital in her nightware, dressing gown and slippers. He indecently assaulted her and then drove her to an isolated lane to carry out further sex assaults before she escaped.

Emotional Larraine said yesterday: “I am delighted with the jail sentence, particularly for the sake of other women.

“What he did was blatant and without thought. He seemed absolutely comfortable with what he was doing.

“I was terrified. When he pulled up in the isolated lane, I thought ‘this is where he is going to kill me.’”

Larraine said at the time of the offence, in June, she was distraught and in emotional turmoil after her husband suddenly left her. On the day of the attack she had got drunk on wine after he came round to collect his belongings, and she had contemplated taking pills.

“I felt desperate,” she said.

A friend alerted emergency services and she was taken to hospital. But when the ambulance arrived at hospital, she set off to walk home. “I was still drunk, I was an emotional wreck and was feeling suicidal. I just wanted to go home.”

When Hartley offered to give her a lift home, she thought he looked safe because he was older. But he started abusing her within 50 yards.

Larraine said she felt guilty and worthless. It had been difficult to tell her family about the attack.

“You wonder if they think you are culpable, even though they didn’t.”

She added: “I am desperately sorry for his family. In an emotional way, he has assaulted them as well by what he did to me.”

Larraine has been having counselling and said it helped to talk about her ordeal. She is now studying for an Open University degree and hopes to go into counselling.

She said she did not dislike men, but could not ever see herself in another relationship.

“Things are improving, but I still shake if I see a bloke with long grey hair, and I check, and re-check, every white van I see.”

Larraine added: “I believe there are a lot of victims of sex attacks out there who are suffering in silence. It is the most isolating of crimes because it is such a personal attack.

“But I urge any women who are victims, to report it. There is a growing awareness and support for them now. I can’t imagine the trauma women go through who don’t report it. If I hadn’t been able to offload it, I think it would have snowballed into something much more serious. I say to other women – please come forward, there is help out there.”

Detective Inspector John Mountain, of Airedale and North Bradford Police, said: “West Yorkshire Police treat all reports of sexual assaults as a priority and we have a number of specially trained staff to help victims of offences.

“We would always encourage victims of sexual assault to contact police on 0845 6060606, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.”