A 51-year-old man has been jailed for 19 years for beating and raping his two daughters and fathering three children by them.

The salesman hit the girls with a leather belt, a slipper and a cricket bat and offered them “the stark choice” of being hurt or having sex with him, Bradford Crown Court heard.

The man, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of his victims, was told by Judge John Potter yesterday: “You are a cruel, violent, controlling, manipulative sexual offender who has shown little, if any, remorse for the harm you have caused.”

The man was convicted by a jury of eight sample charges of rape and two of child cruelty.

Prosecutor Kitty Taylor said he raped his step-daughter and birth daughter up to three times a week.

His step-daughter bore him two children, when she was 15 and 20, and his daughter one child when she was 16.

His barrister, Andrew Stubbs QC, conceded the level of harm to the girls was high and violence was used.

“He knows he faces a long custodial term and there’s nothing on his behalf anyone could sensibly say,” Mr Stubbs said.

Judge Potter said the man was guilty of the “brutal and sustained abuse” of the girls over a significant period of time.

He said the man degraded his daughters, using rape as a punishment and making them feel they deserved what they got.

He stopped abusing his step-daughter when she moved out of the family home with her young child but resumed when his affair with a work colleague ended. The young woman was then raped in her own flat, and forced into the bedroom when her child was distracted.

The man next embarked on the “sustained and systematic” rape of his birth daughter. When she was aged 14 to 16 she was given the choice of sex or a beating.

Judge Potter said the victims were traumatised by having to give evidence in court and had suffered “almost unimaginable harm”. Both had shown commendable bravery when giving their evidence to the jury.

After the case, Detective Constable Emma Dawson, of the Child and Public Protection Unit, said: “This has been a long and difficult investigation and I am delighted that all the hard work has paid off and we have secured justice for the two victims in this case.

“This man destroyed the lives of two innocent girls. They found the courage to give evidence against their abuser and as a result, he is now being punished. I am pleased with the sentence and hope this brings some closure to his victims.”