Joseph McCann was seen by probation officers 10 times in two months after his release from prison before he went on his spree of sex attacks.

He left prison in February 2019 and last saw a probation officer on April 19, three days before he committed his first rape.

A probation officer said McCann had attended the Watford probation office, where he was served with a warning for failing to disclose a new relationship under the terms of his licence because of his history of domestic violence. McCann was “not happy” about it and when his new fiancee’s parents found out about the condition, they broke off the relationship because they thought he was a sex offender.

In a victim impact statement, one of McCann’s victims told how her life had changed from being “thriving” to “surviving”. The review found he should have been recalled to prison after he committed a burglary while on licence for an earlier offence.

On May 5, he pounced on a 71-year-old woman loading shopping in her car outside Morrisons supermarket in Ramsbottom. He raped her and abducted and assaulted a 13-year-old girl in her car before they got away.