A teenager who abducted an 86-year-old woman from a Bradford care home and raped her in its grounds has been locked up indefinitely.

A judge told Dale Boocock, 19, he was a serious danger to the public and might never be released.

And a senior police officer condemned his actions as “vile and beyond belief”.

Boocock broke into the home at dead of night, forcibly removed his frail victim from her bed and dragged her away, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday.

She was found by a staff member shaking, bleeding from her feet and partially clothed. Bruising to her wrists was consistent with fingers gripping her.

The court heard the woman’s health deteriorated rapidly and she died two months later.

Boocock, who pleaded guilty to kidnap and rape, was sentenced to an indeterminate period behind bars.

The judge, Recorder Colin Burn, said it was equivalent to nine and a half years.

Prosecutor Heather Gilmore said Boocock was on police bail for house burglary when he broke into the Springfield residential care home in Western Way, Woodside, on September 15.

His victim, who had been married for more than 60 years, needed round-the-clock nursing care. She was bed-bound, doubly incontinent and suffered from dementia.

Her husband visited her the day before Boocock struck and she was checked by care home staff throughout the night.

At 1.50am, a staff member found the woman’s bed empty and the patio doors open. She raised the alarm and rushed outside where she found the pensioner lying on grass.

The court heard that the woman’s family was left devastated by the attack.

Boocock who was arrested shortly afterwards, refused to tell the police how he got into the home.

Recorder Burn told Boocock: “You went to the nursing home, intoxicated with drink and drugs, to steal and vented your sexual frustration on your victim.” He branded it “an appalling offence of rape” with Boocock showing almost unbelievable callousness.

“You forcibly removed her from her bed, dragged her into the garden and raped her, and left her in a state of dreadful distress and undress,” he said.

The judge told slightly-built Boocock, of no fixed address, who appeared in the dock wearing jeans and a pale blue T-shirt, it would be almost five years before he was even considered for parole.

The term of custody would almost certainly be much longer and he might never be released, he said.

After the case, Detective Chief Inspector Jon Hoyle, of the West Yorkshire Police Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, said Boocock had shown no remorse.

He said: “The only consolation I can offer the family is that Boocock was arrested soon after the offence and has been dealt with by the courts quickly and he will remain in prison for a very long time.

“However, this will never make up for the loss of a wife, a mother, a grandmother, great grandmother and friend, after she tragically passed away just seven weeks after the incident.”

Anchor Homes’ area manager Louise Gibson said: “We welcome the sentence as this was a terrible incident. It has been a deeply traumatic time for everyone at the home and our sympathies are with the family.”