A FATHER-OF-TWO who attempted to rape a 21-year-old girl in Melksham has been jailed for five years.

Martin Palmer, 28, of Foresters Park Road crouched in a dark driveway on Lowbourne after spotting the young woman walking home from town alone.

Judge Keith Cutler labelled family man Palmer as the reason why women are petrified to walk home alone, as he read out the sentence at Swindon Crown Court on Thursday, August1.

He said: "Your actions are those which terrify women and girls making them feel vulnerable and unprotected.

"This was a very serious and frightening offence."

Palmer admitted the attempted rape and theft of the victim's handbag. His crime was only discovered after a 16-year-old boy saw him as he drove away from the scene.

Noting his red Vauxhall Cavalier the teenager helped police trace 400 Cavalier owners in the area.

DNA evidence from a strand of hair was used to close the net on Palmer.

Palmer's wife, who vowed to stand by her husband's side, was in court along with his 21-year-old victim and her parents.

Prosecutor Rosaleen Collins said Palmer pounced from a driveway in the early hours of December 30.

Pulling his terrified victim backwards into a dimly-lit driveway he partially ripped off her clothes before sexually assaulting her.

The victim struck back and Mrs Collins said it was probably her brave determination to fight back that stopped the rape attempt. She said: "Palmer said he remembers her pleading with him to stop.

The victim remembers shouting and swearing and asking why he was doing it.

"A strap from her handbag was used to restrain her. She was very, very hysterical."

A strand of hair pulled out by the victim was found on her fleece, which provided evidence of Palmer's involvement.

When Palmer ran off to Scotland days after police turned up on his doorstep, his wife alerted detectives of her husband's escape bid.

In an interview he told police he was having sexual problems with his wife after the birth of his second child and was expecting sex from her on the evening of the attack. He changed into a tracksuit, told his wife he was moving the car into the driveway and drove to Lowbourne to select his victim.

Sue Evans, defending, said Palmer still had the support of his wife and would receive help for his sexual deviance in prison.

She said: "He did subject the victim to a sexual indignity of a most unpleasant nature but his own clothes were not removed at any point so he was still some way from the completed offence of rape."

Miss Evans said Palmer was "disgusted" at his actions and attempted suicide in a police cell.

Operation Coldcall involved more than 20 detectives as police tried to track down the attempted rapist.