SEX beast Gerald Dyson has been jailed for life after he was convicted of attacking and attempting to rape a woman in her 40s, while he was on probation for another sexual assault.

The 47-year-old father-of-two, of Hithercroft Road, Downley, was sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court on Friday, where it also emerged that he has a string of convictions for sex attacks and has been preying on women since he was 18.

And yesterday, his latest victim told Midweek: "This man should never be allowed out of prison again. I think if he were given parole then it would be a miscarriage of justice and opens up the possibility of other women getting attacked by him."

She added: "In the days after the attack I felt absolutely wrecked and to date have remained so."

Dyson was on a three-year probation for an indecent assault he committed in January 2000, when he attacked his latest victim in Gerrards Cross in September last year.

He had previously spent spells in prison for other sex offences. He was sentenced to seven years jail for three separate rapes in 1981 and six years for indecent assault in 1988.

Last week, the jury took just one hour to find Dyson, who admitted indecent assault and possession of cannabis, guilty of attempted rape following a two-day trial.

They had heard how Dyson and the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been among a group of customers at The Packhorse pub, Packhorse Road, Gerrards Cross, in September last year. She had parked her car on a grass verge near the pub and was unlocking the driver's door after leaving the pub when Dyson struck.

Prosecuting, Paul Reid said: "The next thing she knew she was bundled into the car and thrown face down on the passenger seat with the defendant on top of her."

She felt something around her wrist and Dyson shouted 'Where are the keys?' and 'I've got a knife and I'll use it'.

The victim's leg was lying out of the door as she was pinned down and Dyson tried to close the door on it. Mr Reid said the woman had felt a knife at her throat and had repeatedly pleaded: "Why are you doing this?"

As Dyson hit his victim in the face and tried to kiss her, she smelt alcohol on his breath.

Mr Reid said: "She managed to open the passenger door but he grabbed hold of her hair, pulling some of it out.

"By this time she was screaming 'help me, please help me' so loudly that her screams were heard by people sleeping in a neighbouring property and they went to the window and looked out and realised something was going on."

The court heard Dyson put his hand across his victim's mouth and repeated 'Tell me where the keys are and I may take my hands away' and threatened to 'do it right here' if she did not comply.

Mr Reid added: "The prosecution say there is only one inference to be drawn from his actions and words that he was going to rape her, possibly by driving her away and tying her up.

"The intention was clear: the intention was rape to have sexual intercourse without her consent.

"But he did indecently assault her. Fortunately because of the commotion the police were called.

"A motorist had pulled off the road to make a phone call and he saw the car with two people inside, and when he heard screaming he phoned 999.

"Police arrived shortly afterwards to find the defendant was still on top of his victim, who was still screaming for help."

Mr Reid said Dyson had to be pulled off the woman, who the prosecutor described as in tears, distressed and very frightened.

Police found a knife in the victim's car and she was holding a plastic jubilee clip device which had been around her wrist.

Mr Reid said there was no doubt Dyson had tried to rape his victim and his plea of guilty to indecent assault was only part of the story.

Dyson did not dispute his victim's evidence, and admitted indecent assault but maintained he had no intention of raping her.

He told the court on Friday he had been totally incapable of commiting attempted rape because he had drunk nine pints of lager, smoked cannabis and taken crack cocaine.

He had also pleaded guilty to possession of a small amount of cannabis.

In mitigation, his lawyer told the court Dyson had suffered awful abuse as a child and had made statements recently to police concerning a paedophile ring he wanted brought to justice.

Dyson was handed life imprisonment for attempted rape, four-and-a-half years to run concurrently for the indecent assault for which he was on probation, and one month for possession of cannabis.

Judge Daniel Rodwell QC told Dyson he would have to serve at least four-and-a-half years of his life sentence before being eligible for parole.

He added: "The requirement of the law is that where somebody has previous convictions for rape and is convicted again for rape or attempted rape the court has to pass a sentence of life imprisonment unless there are exceptional circumstances. There are none here.

"The court has to find a determinate period which has to be served before the offender can be considered for release on parole and that period should be half the sentence that the court would otherwise impose had it not been for the provisions which trigger the life sentence."

Dyson was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

After Dyson was jailed, Thames Valley Police Detective Inspector Philip Chandler, who led the investigation, said: "I pay tribute to the victim in this case, who had defended herself against a powerful man, armed with a knife, who tried to rape and imprison her.

"The six or seven minutes she endured before police officers arrived and rescued her must have been a living hell.

"To go before the court and relive what happened required tremendous courage. I know her private and personal lives have been shattered by what Dyson did to her. Gerald Dyson should never be allowed to stalk the streets in search of any more victims."