A 73-year-old British woman was brutally raped, beaten and robbed while on holiday in the south of Tenerife.

Her attacker got into her holiday apartment after climbing a 6ft high wall before physically and sexually assaulting her. He then threatened her and stole money, jewellery and her keys. The valuables had been stored in a small safe inside a wardrobe.

The shocking crime happened eight years ago but has only just come to light as a result of a trial on the island.

The man responsible for the rape, which took place on May 13th, 2018, has been given a nine-year prison sentence.

The conviction was based on conclusive DNA analysis and the recordings of the security cameras in which the victim recognised him.

The defence lawyer requested the acquittal of his client after describing the biological test as a “peripheral element” and demanded the application of the criminal mitigating circumstance for undue delays.

However, medical experts certified the existence of various wounds and contusions on the woman fully compatible with the account of the facts. They said it was “a trillion times more likely that the DNA belongs to the accused than to anyone else.”

The British woman sadly died seven months after the attack but had earlier given her evidence against the man.

The court was told she spent long periods in Tenerife to escape the UK weather. Her apartment was in the south resort of Arona.

The victim, who suffered from COPD, endured nearly two hours of sexual assault and beatings and was hospitalised in Santa Cruz.

She told police her attacker only stopped after opening the safe where she kept money and some jewellery. He terrorised her so much that she was forced to give him the code. She also told police that the man showed no signs of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The woman died in January 2019. Although the causes of her death were not linked to the attack, her daughter testified at the trial that her health had deteriorated after the beatings and rapes.

Delays in the case included one hearing where the defendant failed to turn up in Tenerife from the Spanish mainland, claiming he had lost his passport and was unable to travel. Another hearing was postponed when no plea could be agreed.

The 32-year-old Spanish man claimed he had nothing to do with the attack although he had been working on the island at the time. He said he left Tenerife the next day as he had work in hotels to attend to and he was not running away.

He was arrested in Valencia two months after the attack. He had been caught on the CCTV cameras in the residential complex and was also identified by a woman who he had mugged nearby that same day. She described in detail the clothes he had been wearing and he was spotted on social media with exactly the same ripped white trousers, orange sweatshirt and white T-shirt.

The attacker has been ordered to pay 33,500 euros to the woman’s heirs and the return of the jewellery. Further compensation may also follow.