A Bradford woman is calling for changes in the law after she was stopped from suing the man who sexually abused her as a child.

National child help organisations have supported her call for the scrapping of rules which limit the amount of time a victim has in which to bring a civil action.

The 31-year-old, who does not want to be identified, was abused by a close friend of the family when she was nine.

"It went on for three years," she said. "It happened every time we went to his house, which was on a weekly basis."

She finally told the police two years ago after a former boyfriend was convicted of sexually abusing her six-year-old daughter. "I didn't have the guts to go to the police - I was scared of being called a liar.

"It was only after what happened to my daughter I decided to tell someone.

"I am still paying for it - I've taken several overdoses and I have scars all over my arms.

"I'm receiving psychiatric help and I don't like going out.

The man who abused her received an 18 month prison sentence suspended for two years when he appeared in Bradford Crown Court in November, 1996.

The woman, who lives in the Bowling area of the city, said: "I think it's disgusting I can't sue him. I would like to see the law changed - not just for me but for all the other people who have been sexually abused."

A spokesman for the Bradford firm of solicitors representing her said, under existing legislation, if abuse happens when the person is a child, they have six years from the age of 18 in which to sue for compensation.

After the age of 24 they cannot take civil action unless the abuse happened in a local authority home, in which case there is no time limit for action.

She said: "The only other thing she could have done was to sue her parents for failing to protect her but she obviously didn't want to do that.

"There are a lot of people in the same position as her and I think the law should be changed so there is no time limit for this type of action.

Bradford MP Terry Rooney, whose Bradford North constituency covers the Bowling area, said he would be writing to Home Secretary Jack Straw highlighting the case.

"I think there are serious grounds for a review of the limitations," he said.

"The frightening thing is there are probably tens of thousands of these cases which are not known - people walking round carrying a very heavy burden inside them."

A spokeswoman for Bradford Rape Crisis said: " We applaud the woman's courage for taking a stand by trying to sue the man and we wish she could have been successful."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.