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But, for a brief period in the 1970s, Cambridge was dark and sinister, experiencing a heinous crime spree that was terrifying to not only the local residents but also, to the nation as the Cambridge Rapist struck again and again.

Paul Bahn was a graduate student in the city at the time and, in his new book, meticulously researches the full story of a unique episode in British crime, when one man terrorised an entire city for eight months, striking apparently at random and escaping with ease.

It was an ordeal that brought people together, the police faced a difficult task and everyone was happy to cooperate, the women because they were potential victims, the men because they were potential suspects.

The reign of terror led to the formation of the ‘Bodyguard Squad’, made up of chivalrous male students in a bid to protect the city’s females.

The author played a major role in the squad, and sets out his story within the main narrative of how the police, through painstaking detective work and forensics, gradually closed in on the perpetrator.

This book, which features many previously unpublished documents and photographs, is the first detailed and authoritative account of the most terrifying eight months that Cambridge has experience in recent times.

The Cambridge Rapist, by Paul G Bahn, is available at book shops now priced �8.99.

Visit www.pegasuspublishers.com for more.