A High Wycombe man has been jailed for repeatedly raping two girls more than 50 years ago.

Ian Crawford, of Deeds Grove, was put behind bars for 20 years in Manchester after being found guilty of nine counts of raping a child.

The Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard how the now 76-year-old subjected both girls to years of sexual abuse with his sick crimes spanning between 1958 to 1961 with his first victim, and 1967 to 1973 with his second.

Crawford first raped his first victim when she was just nine-years-old and he was 13, after he had been sexually abusing her in the preceding two years, the court was told.

The woman described to the jury how the offending went on for three years despite her regularly being extremely upset and visibly distressed by Crawford's assaults.

It was when Crawford left Greater Manchester to join the RAF that the girl, aged 12 by this time, stopped being regularly raped by him.

When Crawford moved back to the Trafford area in 1967, he began sexually assaulting his second victim - then aged 10.

Police became aware of Ian Crawford's string of crimes in 2018 after the first victim heard a radio advertisement for a support programme for victims of sexual abuse - named the 'Truth Project'.

After the victim - at this time aged 69 - disclosed the horrendous ordeals to the Project, the group made contact with Greater Manchester Police and an investigation was launched.

Crawford was first interviewed in July 2018 and denied all allegations made.

Later that summer, the first victim made contact with the second, who spoke of the traumatic experiences she had been subjected to by Crawford.

After the second victim - aged 61 - had given her account to detectives, officers arrested Crawford again; this time around he gave a no comment interview.

He was charged in 2019 and, following a delay due to Covid-19 and despite continuing to deny all crimes, Crawford was found guilty on Monday, November 30, of nine counts of rape of a child under 13.

He was jailed for six years for the counts concerning victim one, to be served consecutively to 14 years for the counts involving victim two - totalling 20 years, with an extended license of one year concurrent for each count.

Detective Constable Kayleigh Wiggins, of GMP's Public Protection and Serious Crime Division, said: "Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to the tremendous bravery and determination of both women who have waited for the day Ian Crawford is put behind bars for half a century.

"What they have had to live with during all this time is utterly incomprehensible, but they were magnificent throughout this investigation in giving evidence and persevering throughout to ensure that this monster's truly vulgar atrocities were recognised by the court and justice served.

"I have never quite seen such a disturbing and outrageous case of this nature and Crawford was a free man for far too long before this verdict; it is high time that he is recognised as the sexual predator that he is, regardless of how long ago it occurred.

"These women were subjected to the most traumatic, abhorrent and humiliating experiences as little girls and it has impacted them for life. I urge anyone who is particularly affected by this case to take strength from these two women's courage and contact police in the strictest confidence."