A routine DNA check trapped a "dangerous" Scottish lorry driver who confessed to the brutal rape of a woman more than 20 years.
Evil Leslie Marshall was nailed when a DNA sample was taken when he was arrested for a separate matter in Glasgow in July last year.
The 51-year-old pleaded guilty to the attack yesterday (Tuesday) at Burnley Crown Court.
Following an arrest by another force for a separate incident in July 2009, DNA was taken from Marshall and loaded onto the National DNA Database, which matched him to tests conducted decades earlier.
Scientists were able to go back and re-analyse slides from the original investigation and identify the lorry driver as the attacker of the 22-year-old woman in Briercliffe, near Burnley, Lancashire.
It is understood that in the early hours of 18th January 1989, the victim was approached by a man on Briercliffe Road near to Boundary Street in the centre of Burnley as she walked home from a friend’s house.
And after being forced into a car, driven by a second man, the woman where she taken to a secluded area and raped by both men.
The attackers left her in the darkness on the country lane, but the victim was able to see the lights of a nearby house and raise the alarm.
A thorough investigation in 1989 could not bring the attackers to justice after DNA profiles obtained by the Forensic Science Service remained undetected.
The case was closed until 2008 when The Cold Case Investigation Team embarked on trying to find the offender once more.
Three months later he was arrested by Lancashire detectives from in Stonefield Road, Blantyre, Glasgow.
Det Con Lisa Baxter, from the Lancs Constabulary Cold Case Investigation Team, said that she hoped the victim could now find peace after her attacker had been found.
She said: "I am extremely pleased with today’s result, not only for the investigation team, but, more importantly, for the victim in this case. It has been an extremely traumatic time for her, however she was determined her attacker should face justice and was fully supportive of the police investigation.
"We were able to bring Marshall to justice as a result of a DNA match on the National DNA Database. The value of being able to take a DNA sample and being able to run it through the database is particularly evident in this case.
"Leslie Marshall is clearly a dangerous individual and the public needs to be protected from him. This case should send a clear warning to offenders, despite the passage of time we never give up hope of bringing offenders to justice
"We constantly review older cases and we will catch up with you and you will be brought before the courts for punishment."
Sue Cherry, senior forensic scientist at the FSS, said: "The FSS has helped police to secure more than 150 cold case convictions thanks to advances in DNA technology.
"We are delighted we have been able to work with Lancashire Constabulary on this occasion to help ensure justice for the victim."
Leslie Marshall will be sentenced at Burnley Crown Court on 24 August.
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