Morecambe man's abuser makes fresh appeal bid at court

Wayne Pilsworth, from Morecambe, had to go through two trials to bring Paul Timmis, 55, of Springfield Avenue, Bacup, to justice, with a 14 year jail term eventually imposed.

He was found guilty - following a retrial - of a string of rapes and assaults that took place while he had groomed his victim to live with him.

Timmis already had one appeal attempt thrown out - but now Mr Pilsworth faces further trauma from a new bid at the Court of Appeal on January 21.

Usually people can’t appeal a second time unless the Criminal Cases Review Commission refers their case back to the court.

Mr Pilsworth, who waived his legal right to anonymity to raise awareness of abuse, said: “ I’m shocked.

“I’m not allowed to go because of national travel restrictions. It’s absolutely disgusting this creature has a second appeal."

The youngster came from a challenging background, and when his parents were evicted from their home in Manchester, Timmis forced him to move in with him.

The adult went on to repeatedly rape and indecently assault his vulnerable victim in various locations that they moved to including Kirkham, Freckleton, Blackpool, and Greater Manchester between 1987 and 2000.

But in 2000, Mr Pilsworth refused to move to Scarborough and fled his attacker.

He got a job at Tiggis in Guildhall Street, Preston, but unknown to his colleagues was sleeping rough on benches in the city. Eventually he obtained shared accommodation off Fishergate Hill.

In 2004 he met his wife Teresa in Blackpool, and the couple, who now have three children, moved to Morecambe.

But it wasn't until he became extremely suicidal that he realised he had to report what had happened to him.

In 2017 he disclosed his ordeal to police.

Anyone affected by this story can call police on 101.

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