A Welwyn Garden City man who repeatedly raped and abused two young girls over a decade has been jailed for 13 years.

Peter Thackeray, 54, of Peartree Lane, was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on Monday, after being convicted by a jury of 11 counts of rape and indecent assault.

The offences were committed between 1989 and 1999, when his victims were aged between nine and 14.

When his barrister, Francis McGrath, told the court of his client’s “remorse”, judge Andrew Bright interjected: “He has no remorse whatsoever.

“He makes it sound [ in probation interviews] as if he is the victim.”

He told Thackeray: “They [the victims] have suffered irreparable psychological harm at your hands.

“There is no remorse here at all - nothing but self-pity.”

One one occasion in his own home, Thackeray even raped one of the victims in the presence of other young children.

Thackeray was banned for life from spending a night in the same building as any child unless a parent who knows about his offending is present.