A sex attacker has been sent to Broadmoor for attempting to rape a terrified teenage guest at a Bed and Breakfast where they were both staying.

Perry Smith befriended the 18-year-old who was staying in a different room at the guest house in Okehampton and persuaded her to let him watch television with her.

She dozed off and woke up to find her jeans had been pulled down and he was sexually assaulting her. He went on to try to have sex with her as she tried to fight him off.

The girl fled her room and locked herself in a bathroom before calling for help. She is still suffering nightmares and flashbacks more than two years after the ordeal.

Smith has a history of mental illness and carried out the attack when he had stopped taking anti-psychotic medication.

The victim had no idea about his illness or that he was already a registered sex offender with convictions for flashing and sexual assault.

Smith, aged 27, previously of Foxholes Hill, Exmouth, admitted attempted rape and two counts of assault by penetration and was ordered to be detained indefinitely at Broadmoor special hospital.

Judge Timothy Rose imposed a restriction order at Exeter Crown Court which means he cannot be released without the approval of the Justice Secretary.

He told him: “The impact of your behaviour on your victim has been severe and caused her immense anguish and harm, which she has suffered ever since.

“You would normally receive a significant prison sentence but the position in your case is different because of your long-standing mental health problems.”

Mr Richard Crabb, prosecuting, said Smith met the victim when she was staying at the same Bed and Breakfast in Okehampton in January 2018.

He invited himself into her room at 6 pm one evening and they had been watching television while sitting on opposite sides of the double bed.

She fell asleep and woke up to find he had partially removed her jeans and was touching her sexually. He tried to have sex from behind but she struggled while telling him to stop and then sought refuge in a bathroom.

Smith initially claimed all the sexual activity was consensual but later pleaded guilty, telling a Judge ‘I lied’.

Mr Lee Bremridge, defending, said medical reports made it clear that Smith’s paranoid schizophrenia was an important contributory factor to his offending.

He said two consultant psychiatrists had recommended that he should be treated in hospital rather than sent to prison.