A KENT woman has spoken about the sexual and mental abuse she suffered at the hands of her step-father when she was a small girl.

Barbara Gladman says that when Lawrence Bates was jailed at the age of 76 it brought to an end 47 years of waiting for justice.

Mrs Gladman has waived her right to anonymity in the hope that it encourages others to come forward.

Bates, who was living in a rest home in Ramsgate when the charges were brought, was accused of five counts of indecent assault and three charges of child cruelty, all of which he denied.

When he was found guilty at Croydon Crown Court in December, he was given an 18-month sentence, with nine months to be served.

Mrs Gladman said: “When I walked out of that court it was as if something had lifted.”

The offences began in 1958 when Mrs Gladman was five and ended in 1964. When she went to the police, she feared she would not be taken seriously but was instantly proved wrong.

She said: “The police made me feel they believed me. I want to tell people 'don’t be frightened – you will be believed.’

She added: “I feel very strongly that there are so many people out there who could come forward.

“When Bates was found guilty the barrister said 'thank you very much for what you have done because it will make people come forward and this case will change people’s lives’.”

When Bates arrived in the dock, it was a difficult moment for Mrs Gladman. She stressed: “I hadn’t seen him since the early 1970s. He never once looked at me but there he was. He was an old man.

“They said 'how do you feel?’ and I said he looked old and he looked ill."

She stressed: "To be frank I was not concerned about him. Nobody should forget I was only five when the abuse started."

The abuse, which took place in Orpington, was sexual, physical and mental and she became a prisoner in her home.

She said: “I always felt inferior. You are in constant fear and don’t relate to things normally. Can you imagine being a child and not laughing, not being able to sing or go out to play? It was all about control and not wanting me to grow up.”

When she was 11, the abuse stopped. Mrs Gladman is not unusual in having suffered in silence. As well as the fear Bates instilled in her, there was the desperate desire not to hurt her mother.

It was only when she was in her 30s that she told anyone what had happened. With the support of her family, the decision was made to go to the police.

Mrs Gladman now lives in Maidstone with her 'loving and supportive family’, friends and two much-loved terriers, who all helped her through the case.

However, the effects of the abuse are indelible. “It affects how you relate to other people and the worst thing is how you always feel like second best. It is difficult to show your love.”