A hospital worker has been jailed for life for assaulting a teenager in a sex attack he copied from an internet site.

Carley Furness, 17, who has waived her right to anonymity, was saved by surgery after she was stabbed in the throat and stomach by Peter Anscombe.

He assaulted her as she walked to work through a park in Orpington, south-east London, last September.

Anscombe, 28, from Orpington, was ordered to serve a minimum sentence of seven years.

Old Bailey Judge Anthony Morris said: "It is difficult to imagine a worse case than this."

'Remarkable woman'

He also praised Ms Furness, now 18, for waiving her anonymity to encourage other victims to come forward.

"She is a remarkable young woman and a credit to her family," he said.

After the sentencing Miss Furness's father Gary said: "He has got what he deserves. I hope he never comes out.

"What he did to a defenceless 17-year-old girl was a perverted and cowardly act."

Judge Morris said Anscombe was "obsessed" with violent sex attack stories and images and had decided to target Ms Furness when he saw her at the shop where she worked last September.

"I am satisfied you targeted Carley Furness with a view to carry out a violent sexual assault."

"One story, Steve's Next Victim, has chilling similarities to the attack you carried out on Carley Furness and you may well have used it as a blueprint for that attack."

The jury heard that Anscombe spent hours downloading images and stories from the internet about sex attacks on young girls.

'Significant risk'

Judge Morris also praised the courage of the woman passer-by who chased off Anscombe and the efforts of the medical team which saved Ms Furness' life.

The court heard Anscombe sexually assaulted Miss Furness before fleeing.

Four days earlier, Anscombe had attacked a 39-year-old woman in a shopping centre car park in Bromley, south-east London.

He was found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and sexual assault on Miss Furness and assault on the other woman.

Adding that Anscombe posed a "significant risk" to public, Judge Morris said the Parole Board should consider his sentencing remarks when Anscombe becomes eligible for released on parole.