A man has been jailed for nine years for robbing a 91-year-old woman in her hotel room.

The terrified victim said she thought she was going to be raped and killed when Jose Ferreira confronted her in the Eastbourne hotel in July last year, stealing £25.

A court heard how Ferreira fled his native Portugal after escaping from prison where he was serving five years for robbery and possessing firearms.

He arrived in Britain four days before he broke into Tilly Rabinovitch's hotel room.

She had gone to Eastbourne to enjoy a holiday with a group of fellow pensioners.

She feared she was about to die as Ferreira used his bare hands to throttle her in a bid to keep her quiet as he searched her room for cash.

A jury at Hove Crown Court yesterday found Ferreira guilty of the robbery.

When he has served his time, he will be deported back to Portugal to complete the remaining four years of his sentence there.

The judge, Recorder Ian Grainger, described the robbery on Ms Rabinovitch as particularly vile and said Ferreira was an extremely dangerous man.

His victim's struggles and cries for help were heard by other guests who alerted staff at the Carlton Hotel, Eastbourne.

Ferreira left the room calmly telling them that he had been making love to the woman inside. He was caught when his DNA was found on a cigarette he had smoked in the room.

The match was made after detectives later checked records and discovered he had been arrested at Luton Airport for abusing a stewardess as he flew to England.

Ferreira was traced to a flat in Seaside, Eastbourne, where members of the Portuguese community told police he was an escaped convict.

He denied the robbery during the three-day trial, claiming the cigarette end could have been found in the street.