A paranoid schizophrenic who raped a good samaritan on a station platform two days after he fled from a psychiatric unit has been detained under the Mental Health Act.

Ryan Clifford subjected the woman, who had stopped to help him as she thought he looked ill, to what was described as a "horrifying and traumatic" ordeal lasting up to 45 minutes.

The 28-year-old repeatedly attacked his victim at Swanley train station in September last year as trains sped by.

The woman, who later described Clifford as having almost devil-like eyes, eventually managed to flee for help when he was distracted by an arriving train.

Maidstone Crown Court heard Clifford had been a patient at the Little Brook Hospital in Stone, near Dartford, when he escaped through a window.

The area in which he raped the woman two days later was not covered by CCTV cameras.

Clifford, of no fixed address, was convicted by a jury of two offences of rape and one of assault by penetration.

Verdicts could not be reached on a further rape charge and two of assault by penetration and these were ordered to be left on file.

Clifford did not give evidence.

Today, Judge David Griffith-Jones QC said it was for the public's protection that he should be kept under the care of the Trevor Gibbens psychiatric unit in Maidstone until the Ministry of Justice, and not doctors, deems him fit for release.

The court heard he was making good progress with his treatment but that the intensity of his mental illness would "rapidly increase" if he was not detained.

Andrew Lewis, defending, did not oppose the restriction order on Clifford's release.

He said: "He is a seriously ill young man who needs to be detained for the protection of the public, but in circumstances where he is treated and there is some prospect of him recovering."

Flanked in the dock by two members of hospital staff, Clifford showed no emotion as the judge outlined the impact of the attack on his victim.

"She was a young lady who you encountered on a train. You seemed unwell and she was kind to you, offering you help.

"You then proceeded to subject her to a series of sexual assaults of the most serious kind in what must have been for her a quite terrifying ordeal.

"By any measure this must have been a quite horrifying and traumatic experience for your victim, the effects of which, sadly, are likely to live with her for a very long time indeed.

"In her victim impact statement she describes not just the trauma inflicted upon her at the time but also the effect that trauma has had on her as she has continued her life."

The victim was in court and Judge Griffith-Jones commended her for the bravery she had shown throughout the legal proceedings.

"You had to suffer the ordeal of going into the witness box and reliving this awful experience," he said. "I very much hope that what has happened today will bring some closure to your experience."

During the trial, the court heard the woman was travelling from New Ash Green when she got off at Swanley.

Clifford got off the same train and was smoking and holding a bottle of wine. The woman asked him if he wanted to sit down and they did so by platforms three and four.

Giving evidence, she told jury: "This is all about helping someone. If I see somebody who is ill I will automatically go to help them."

However, as well as raping the woman, the court heard Clifford also put his hands around her throat, threatened her and slapped her.

Describing herself as being "petrified and scared", she added: "I feel completely ashamed and hateful about my body. No means no. I said no a lot of times."

She also told police when interviewed that she thought there were CCTV cameras. "I was waiting for someone to come and help," she added.