A WOMAN who was restrained and raped by a predator said she was left “unrecognisable” after the brutal attack in Southend.

Malcolm Mason attacked the woman, a sex worker at the time, inside his home in Wimborne Road, Southend on January 12 last year having arranged to meet her using the false name “Peter”.

When inside the address he threatened her with a pair of scissors, forced her to take off her clothes, assaulted her, gagged her and tied her up before raping her.

The attack left her with a bloody nose, a black eye and she also lost three teeth.

At Basildon Crown Court, the woman’s victim impact statements were read, where she detailed how she was so scared Mason would find her after reporting it to the police, she had to tape her front door closed.

The woman said she can only walk past houses that her mother is aware of, so that she can run for help if needed.

She also said that she is petrified of bald men with glasses - similar in appearance to Mason.

She said: “In Tesco recently I was getting things out of the trolley and there was a man with glasses and a bald head and I screamed, I was so scared.

“He turned out to be working in there but I thought it was him and that he had come to get me. My nerves are always on edge. Initially I suffered severe bruising and swelling to my face and head, I had an infection in my right eye.

“As a result of the attack I didn’t see my children until the injuries had subsided, so that they would not suffer the significant effect of seeing their mother injured.”

The woman said she has suffered flashbacks and lack of sleep, but despite this, has turned her life around.

A report from the probation service said that Mason was a "high risk" to all adult women.

Recorder David Mayall said he was “entirely satisfied” that Mason had inflicted serious psychological harm on the woman.

In statements from the victim’s mother, she said her daughter’s attack had deeply affected her, and that the house “is always fully locked” whenever she is not home with her.

The mother said she had also bought her daughter a puppy, which has provided “some comfort”.