A fresh appeal for witnesses to a horrific unsolved attack in Ilkley has already provided new leads, despite the atrocious weather interfering with the campaign.

Almost a year to the day after a 52-year-old woman was beaten unconscious and left for dead on Ilkley Moor by a vicious knifeman, police stepped up their hunt.

A caravan, staffed by detectives, was yesterday placed in Ilkley central car park showing the BBC Crimewatch footage appealing for witnesses to the attack. There were also e-fit pictures of the attacker and descriptions of the knife he used.

Detective Superintendent Paul Kennedy, who is leading the investigation, said he wanted to help jog people's memories with a renewed police presence in the area.

As well as manning the car park caravan, officers have also been stationed on Ilkley Moor, in high winds and torrential rain, in the area of the Panorama Reservoir where the attack took place.

The same man has been linked by DNA evidence to the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Primrose Valley, Halton, in east Leeds in 1997.

A similar operation was also set up in that area. Supt Kennedy agreed that by keeping many people indoors, the bad weather was not helping the fresh appeal for witnesses. He said: "I was disappointed when I looked out and saw the weather, but the message is that the weather is not going to stop us in our pursuit of this man.

"We have got a couple of leads and fresh information both here and in Leeds. Both attacks were horrific and we are back in the community to speak to members of the public to ask them to look at the description in the hope that it might jog their memory."

Supt Kennedy said that the level of violence used - the Ilkley victim managed to grab the attacker's knife but she was strangled and repeatedly punched in the face until she passed out - was in itself a clue.

"The man was comfortable using that level of violence, perhaps a person who has been on the receiving end of the violence might come forward," said Supt Kennedy.

"We particularly want to hear from women who may have been in a relationship with someone they suspect might be this man. If you suspect someone then don't allow yourself to be convinced that we already have their DNA and have eliminated them from the inquiry. Let us know your suspicions and allow us to check for ourselves."

As the man is still at large and a danger to women, officers were advising walkers to take precautions such as carrying a mobile telephone when walking on their own on the moor.

They also suggested women should walk with another person if possible.

e-mail: newsdesk@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

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