A WOMAN who is living in fear after her stepfather rapist was released from prison early is demanding police install a panic button in her home.

Mandy Holstein, of Darlington, is afraid for her safety, and that of her children, after Garth Valentine-Earley was released from prison after serving four years of a ten-year sentence.

He has been put into a hostel in Middlesbrough - only 20 minutes by car from her home in Firthmoor.

In February 1998, Earley was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court to ten years each for three charges of rape, to run concurrently, and four years each on three counts of indecent assault, to run concurrently.

Mandy, who was repeatedly raped from the ages of seven to 15, is petrified that Earley will turn up at her door.

In The Northern Echo yesterday, she exclusively revealed how she had suffered at his hands for eight years.

She said: "I am living my life in fear. I want a panic button installed in my home as I just don't feel safe. He has threatened and blackmailed me for years and has threatened to take one of my kids. Something needs to be done.