"I feel over the moon, I keep wanting to pinch myself".

Those were the words of a Maidstone mum on the day her daughter's rapist finally handed himself in after two years on the run.

Andrew Alderman, from Maidstone, was convicted of rape, indecent assault and sexual activity with a child at Maidstone Crown Court on August 31, 2006.

But he disappeared while the jury was deliberating. The judge sentenced him in his absence and issued a warrant for his arrest.

Police later discovered CCTV images of him at the Eurotunnel terminal at Longport, Folkestone, at 5.30am on the day of the verdict.

Now his traumatised victim and her family can finally see Alderman, 49, behind bars after he handed himself in to the British consul in Madrid this week.

His victim's mother said: "This is the most bizarre day. It is the opposite extreme to the day my daughter told me what he had done to her three and a half years ago.

"It's been so long and I've just been waiting for that phone call, and then today it came.

"The past three and a half years have been hell. Now we start trying to put it behind us."

The mum said her daughter burst into tears and then burst out laughing when she told her the news.

"We have won and he has not. He is the one who is suffering now. We can be happy and enjoy our future knowing that he doesn't have one," said the mum.

Alderman's surrender comes just over a week after police named him as one of the 10 most wanted British criminals believed to have fled to Spain.

The "rogues gallery" was released by British police as part of Operation Captura 2 in the hope ex-pats would be able to shed light on new leads.

According to Det Insp Dave Berry who lead the original search after Alderman absconded, media pressure - which started with an exclusive interview in the Kent Messenger - played a massive part in tracking him down.

He said: "Ultimately it was the media who piled on the pressure.

"This result just shows that people can't hide."

• For more on this story visit the Crimestoppers website