WOMEN are too scared to walk alone at night in Fulford as a "hoodie" rapist remains free to strike again.

Detectives are hunting the podgy-faced attacker who pulled a young woman into St Oswald's churchyard at 3.45am on Sunday, August 22.

Now residents living near the scene of the assault say they will not rest until he is locked up.

"That could have so easily have been me," revealed 25-year-old barmaid Andrea Harper.

"I have to admit that I've always walked home without giving it a second thought. You never expect anything like this to happen so close to home. It's petrifying.

"From now on, I will not be walking home alone. I will call my boyfriend or make sure I get a taxi. You just cannot take the risk."

Pensioner Margaret Chilton, 65, said: "This makes me so scared to go out in the evening, or even leave the house without my husband at my side. This has always been a nice, quiet area. It's the first I've heard about such a horrific attack since I've lived here."

After a service at St Oswald's Church - the scene of the attack - where the packed congregation prayed for the victim, residents say they are living in fear of a second attack.

Diane Chapman, 42, said: "It is shocking to think that something like this could happen in York, let alone Fulford. I work in Leeds, where sadly things like this are more common.

"I have to admit I do go running in the early morning along the riverbank, but now I'm definitely frightened to go out alone. I just feel so sorry for the poor girl."

Friends Joan Metcalf, 60, and Jennifer Winn, 57, live in Dringhouses but regularly visit Fulford. The pair say they felt a shiver run down their spines after learning of the attack.

"I will never go out in the evening at all," said Mrs Metcalf. "It just doesn't seem safe these days. I don't know why the victim was walking home at such an hour, but that doesn't justify what's happened to her."

Mrs Winn said: "It only takes the one time to go out on your own for something like this to happen. Everyone needs to be extra vigilant."

A massive hunt is under way for the six foot tall sex attacker.

Police say they have been inundated with calls since an e-fit picture of the fiend appeared in Evening Press.

Investigators are sifting through information in a bid to close the net after issuing a warning to women not to allow themselves to be "vulnerable to attack".

However, detectives do not believe the attack was linked to other rapes.

Det Sgt Maria Taylor, leading the investigation, said: "Since the e-fit picture of the attacker was released we have received quite a number of calls.

"We are sifting through all the information at the moment to see whether there are any new lines of inquiry for us to follow."

Anyone with information about the clean-shaven, well-built attacker, who wore a black hooded top, should phone detectives on 0845 6060247.

Updated: 10:43 Tuesday, August 30, 2005