Police have made a new plea to track down Bath's Batman serial rapist who has terrorised women for the past decade.

They have set up the first major dedicated crime website in the country and are organising a massive mailshot to designated postcodes in a new bid to find the rapist who always strikes with a knife.

Det Insp Paul James said: "We want to catch him because we know that this man will not stop until we catch him."

The special website at www.avsom.police.uk is a team decision by police involved in Operation Eagle, the code name of the hunt for the attacker, and describes the dates and times of his offences.

DI James said: "There is a map of where the attacks took place and a time-line of incidents people can refer to. We are letting out more characteristics of the attacker as well."

A more detailed picture of the rapist has been built by police officers with the aid of psychologists.

He is a white male of average build, in his 30s to mid 40s, works in unskilled or semi-skilled employment and may have had connections with Oldfield Park in 1991.

DI James said: "He may have connections with Bristol perhaps Mangotsfield and live towards the south of Bath, Claverton or Widcombe."

The latest plea is a timely reminder to women in Bath because the rapist has attacked between 6pm and 8pm, on weekday winter evenings.

Other attacks and attempted assaults have occurred between 1am and 3am.

Further details released include the attacker's habit of using a pink Tiffany-style headband to blindfold victims. "He sometimes carries a condom, always has a knife and is dangerous," said DI James.

"The very nature of his crime rape means his offending is violent. He is not gratuitous but he carries a knife and it is a violent act."

Since DI James joined Operation Eagle more than 10 months ago, the rapes have featured on Crime Watch and progress has been made.

"We have made progress over the past 12 months, but it is meticulous, detailed work and we feel that if we get given a name it will cut through it," he said.

The web-site's sponsorship by Bath company Roman Glass, Bath Retail and Radio Link and B&NES Crime Prevention Panel, indicates Bathonians outrage at this criminal.

DI James said: "This is a general appeal, we are not putting pressure on anybody, we know it is hard if you suspect somebody.

"But we think he is local and somebody out there must have suspicions about someone they know."

The Batman Rapist's attacks started in 1991 when a woman was raped in Combe Hay Lane after being abducted outside her home in Coronation Avenue.

Women have been attacked in Beckford Gardens and Charlotte Street car park in following assaults. One victim was driven to Mangotsfield. "You would have to call him a serial rapist,"said DI James.

More than 25,000 leaflets combining night-time safety advice and the characteristics of the Batman rapist are being dropped in BA1, and some BA2 postcoded homes.

DI James said the offender may live in Wiltshire. "We are dropping to as many BA2 homes as the budget allows," he said.