A 34-year-old man has been jailed for 15 years after raping a woman and holding her hostage with a meat cleaver.

Steven Anderson, of no fixed address, imprisoned the woman in Jaywick on December 13 2019, smashing a television and threatening her with a meat cleaver.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons but is aged in her 50s, told a trial last year that she had been too scared to seek help.

When she saw Anderson again, on January 2 2020, he attacked her with a hammer and beat her, before raping her at knifepoint.

The woman called the police the next day, once she was safely with family.

Anderson fled Essex and was arrested three weeks later in Homerton, London.

On December 2, he was convicted of two counts of rape, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, making threats to kill, false imprisonment, assault by beating, and criminal damage, following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

On Tuesday, March 2, he was for jailed for 15 years for each rape, four years for causing grievous bodily harm with intent, four years for making threats to kill, four years for false imprisonment, five months for assault by beating, and three months for criminal damage.

The jail terms will be served concurrently, with Anderson set to serve a further six years on licence.

In a statement, the victim thanked police and encouraged other people to come forward if they had been victims of abuse.

She said: “I’m so grateful to Essex Police for their commitment to making sure I got justice, and that I remained safe at all times.

“I urge anyone suffering from abuse – whether it be physical, emotional, or sexual – to come forward and report these crimes.

“The support I received, particularly from Detective Constable Liv Howells and Meg from the Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse (CARA) team was invaluable.

“Even though it seems scary at the time, please, please report these crimes and get the justice you deserve.”

Liv Howells, from the North Adult Sexual Abuse Investigation Team, said: “Steven Anderson put his victim through an unimaginable ordeal on two separate occasions.

“I want to praise the victim who has shown incredible bravery by coming forward and telling us what happened.

“She gave us in-depth accounts and I cannot thank her enough for her courage and co-operation throughout our investigation.

"It must have been incredibly difficult to recount what had happened to her.

“We have worked tirelessly on this case, to ensure we get justice for her, and to ensure Anderson is not able to commit further crimes against women.

“He will spend a significant amount of time behind bars and Essex is a safer place for this.”