A SELFLESS duo who were offered a £10,000 reward for helping convict a city rapist have given the money to the wheelchair-bound victim.

The pair recognised two women in an Express & Echo appeal for information to catch Redlands Close rapist Jakub Tomczak.

They contacted police with the names of the women in a CCTV image, which eventually led detectives to 24-year-old Polish national Tomczak.

The pair were eligible for a £10,000 reward put up by Crimestoppers but instead gave the money to the victim who sustained horrific life-changing injuries.

Now, they have been recognised for the crucial part they played and have received Good Citizenship Awards from Devon and Cornwall police.

The awards have been given by the Exeter area Commander Jo Tennant for their public-spirited actions.

Tomczak's victim, a woman in her 40s, is still confined to a wheelchair and told the Echo previously that she is serving a "living prison sentence" because of the injuries she sustained.

Tomczak was convicted of rape and grievous bodily harm after he brutally attacked a women, leaving her for dead with a fractured skull, naked under a truck in Redlands Close, Whipton, in July 2006.

The case shocked residents and led to a high-profile investigation and police manhunt.

The Echo featured numerous appeals to help the police and the case featured on BBC's Crimewatch.

Police eventually had Tomczak, a night porter at the Thistle Hotel in Exeter's Queen Street at the time of the attack, extradited from Poland to face justice.

He had been living in Monks Road, Exeter, when he stalked his victim as she walked home after a rare night out at Club Rococo.

A Devon and Cornwall police spokesman said: "The two responded to a press appeal in the Echo, having recognised the two females who were shown in the appeal.

"The two females were subsequently identified, and this in turn led to the identity of the offender. The witness testimony of the females in the photo was instrumental in the successful prosecution and conviction of a most dangerous and violent man.

"The people responsible for identifying them showed great sensitivity and selflessness in ensuring that the seriously injured victim received the reward money."

Tomczak is currently behind bars in Poland. Judge Graham Cottle told Tomczak he was "every woman's nightmare" when he sentenced him to two life sentences.