A retired police chief involved in the hunt for a rapist nearly 17 years ago has spoken of his delight following the conviction this week of the brutal attacker.

Martin Done was caught only after his DNA, a sample of which was taken from him on an unrelated matter in 1999, linked him to the sex attack a decade earlier.

On Tuesday 44-year-old Done, of Grange Grove, Riddlesden, was jailed for ten years after being found guilty at Leeds Crown Court following a five-day trial.

Retired Det Chief Insp Tony Hennigan, who was on the original investigation team, said this week he was "absolutely delighted" at the conviction.

He recalled his surprise at how the team of officers set up to solve the crime following the attack in Stockbridge, on May 19, 1989, had not achieved an early result.

Speaking exclusively to the Keighley News, Mr Hennigan, pictured right, who retired from the force in 2001, said: "Be-cause of the distinctive nature of the arm bandages worn by the attacker we really thought it wouldn't be long before the person responsible was picked up.

"In those days we didn't have the DNA technology that exists now but we felt the bandages were such a strong clue that someone would have come forward with information leading us to a suspect. There was no reason at all to believe the bandages were a ploy intended to mislead."

He added: "Whenever a sexual offence was committed we would always look at individuals who had done that sort of thing before and, although a number of people were interviewed, there was no clear suspect.

"Hopefully, this week's conviction will serve as a warning to people who have committed crimes in the past and think they've got away with it, that thanks to advances in DNA technology police might be knocking at their door tomorrow."

Despite extensive house-to-house inquiries -- involving 30 officers -- carried out in the area in the weeks immediately after the rape, no positive leads emerged.

Police had been particularly keen to speak to two people seen in the vicinity at the time of the incident but they were traced and eliminated from the investigation.

Last week Leeds Crown Court was told that Done had donned a Ku Klux Klan-style hood with diamond shaped eyeholes and, armed with a knife, sneaked into the home of a 22-year-old mother.

He entered the house through the back door, which was open because of the fine weather.

He put his arm over her mouth as she screamed and then told her to shut up or he would kill her six-week-old baby. He then ordered the woman upstairs.

She had to hold off her snarling pet dog as she was raped.

Several times her attacker pulled at his mask to ensure it was covering his face but she managed to see his eyes, which were dark with ginger coloured eyebrows.

He was wearing surgical bandages on both arms.

When the man left the room, she armed herself with a kitchen carving knife, fearing that he was still in the house, and then phoned her parents and the police.

The jury of six men and six women took three hours to return a guilty verdict.

Done, a band knife operator who was living in Ingrow at the time of the offence, was arrested in June last year, after detectives working on Operation Recall -- in which they use DNA to tackle unsolved crimes -- made a "hit" on the national DNA database.

The court was told there was a one in a billion chance that Done was not the rapist.

He claimed he was 40 miles away, working in Oldham, at the time of the incident.

After the hearing Det Supt John Parkinson, who leads Operation Recall, said it was the advances in DNA technology that had led detectives to Done and to securing the verdict.

He praised the victim -- who cannot be named for legal reasons -- for showing great perseverance, courage and dignity.

He said the case demonstrated the importance of his unit's work, adding: "It sends a very important message to offenders that we don't forget, we never give up and they must be looking over their shoulders to see if we are going to knock on their door.

"With every new advance we come a step closer to catching those responsible for the most serious of crimes."

Judge Stephen Ashurst told Done, who has no children, that he would be put on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.

He added: "The only sensible conclusion is that this offence must have been planned by you. This was a disgusting and life-changing ordeal for the victim. I have read the court papers and know of the traumatic effects it has had on her and her entire family, which has led to major physical and psychological changes."

After the case, the victim's 40-year-old husband told how there was a sense of disbelief when last summer officers told them they had arrested a suspect.

He said: "It was very hard for my wife not knowing who the rapist was. She didn't want to go out on her own and was always looking around. Hopefully what has happened today has gone a long way towards her getting over it.

"We try not to think about him. He has done a good job in ruining our lives."