Rapist snared by the spyhole he drilled in neighbours' bedroom ceiling

Voyeur Anthony Batchelor, 33,  who had been filming his neighbour's partner sunbathing naked, was caught out after a coin-shaped hole was discovered in the roof.

When police searched Batchelor's home in Gloucester, they they scoured his computer and discovered damning footage he had filmed just before he raped a young woman at knifepoint and threatened her with red-hot hair tongs.

Spyhole rapist Anthony Batchelor was jailed indefinitely

Officers also found videos where he had 'zoomed in' on women and children changing at swimming pools as well as clips of him setting up a spy camera by his lavatory to film four women.

Jailing Batchelor indefinitely for public protection at Gloucester Crown Court, Judge Mark Horton told the father-of-one his unlimited sentence reflected the 'sexual depravity' he put his victims through.

Batchelor admitted 14 offences, including rape, voyeurism and possessing child pornography.

He will be eligible for release after just three years and nine months, but will only be freed if an expert parole panel deems he is no longer a threat.

Batchelor's crimes were only uncovered while he was going out with a woman who lived next door to the couple.

Caught on film: Batchelor setting up a spy camera

His female next-door neighbour had been looking for a missing laptop last July when she found debris on the floor, followed by the hole in the ceiling.

Wires in the attic space had been connected to a camera set up in the bedroom which captured intimate footage of his neighbours.

The amateur video showed Batchelor had zoomed in on his female neighbour's private parts.

And underwear, a photo album and a camera memory card had also been taken from the bedroom.

Police found more disturbing clips filmed for Batchelor's pleasure -some of them dating back to 1999.

Batchelor's former sexual partners were interviewed because many of them featured in the videos.

In one incident he imprisoned a young woman against her will and made her put on a dress before slashing it with a knife.

He forced her into intercourse by threatening to sexually assault her with heated hair straighteners.

The court also heard how he spent three years in prison after posting explicit images of a woman on the internet - including her personal details - with a caption suggesting she welcomed being raped.

Judge Horton added: "The shame, disgust and lasting unease will persist in some of those young women for the rest of their lives."

The hole used by Batchelor to get into his neighbour's house

Detective Inspector Mark Chicken, of Gloucestershire police, said after the case: "Through the hard work and dedication of the investigating officers, and with the co-operation and courage of victims and witnesses, what began as a straight-forward burglary inquiry rapidly expanded into a major investigation into numerous sexual offences, against multiple victims, across several years.

"Though the investigation was complex and convoluted at times, one thing to come out of it is crystal clear; Anthony Batchelor was, and remains, a sexual predator and a danger to the public."

Batchelor admitted 14 offences, including rape, false imprisonment, actual bodily harm, trespassing with intent to commit a sexual offences, two burglaries, three counts of possessing indecent images of children and voyeurism.