A SEX attacker has been jailed more than nine years after targeting a woman on a quiet road.

Clinton Colwell, aged 34, was sentenced to five years in prison at Croydon Crown Court on October 8.

He had pleaded guilty to robbery and attempted rape.

Colwell had been arrested on May 28, 1998, in connection with the attack in Biggin Hill.

While on bail Colwell, who was living in Chatterton Road, Bromley Common, at the time, took a boat to Amsterdam and then flew to his native Cape Town, South Africa.

Bromley police started extradition proceedings, which Colwell opposed, but he was eventually returned to the UK to face court.

Prosecutor Peter Clement said the woman saw a man walking straight towards her.

Mr Clement said: "She noticed he had a focused and menacing look. He said nothing, but he pushed her into a hedgerow.

"He placed his hand on her throat, holding her down. Very sensibly, she didn't struggle.

"She had the presence of mind to try to reason with him.

"She said to him 'Please don't attack me. This is the third time, you know'."

Mr Clement said this was a reference to two previous times she had been robbed.

He added: "When a car went by, he told her 'Don't scream. Don't speak. Don't make any noise."

The court heard Colwell asked his victim if she had any money and she took £10 from her handbag and gave it to him.

He then put his hand up her skirt and pulled down her knickers and tights.

Mr Clement added: "A second car came from Sunningvale Avenue.

"The headlights settled momentarily on the two of them. He suddenly got up and ran down the hill."

While on her way home, the woman met up with a group of teenagers who went in search of the attacker.

They flagged down a police car and Colwell was found in a phone box a quarter-of-a-mile away.

Colwell had been given police bail because the woman did not make a statement that night.

Judge Simon Pratt said: "Robbery is a serious crime in itself. She must have been terrified.

"Once you had her money, you started the sexual part of your attack."

The judge recommended Colwell should be deported when he is released from prison.