A young woman who was sexually abused by a paedophile ex-cop is begging more victims to speak out to stop his release from jail.

Amy Hannah, who lives near Northampton, was only eight when vile Daniel Lishman wormed his way into her family and attacked her.

The serial child abuser, jailed for life in 2011, was branded by the judge 'every parent's worst nightmare'.

When he was arrested, police found a memory card hidden in his sock containing images of him posing indecently with a blindfolded eight-year-old in the back of his van.

Amy Hannah, pictured, was just eight when she was abused by a paedophile ex-cop. Now she is begging more victims to speak out to stop his release from jail

Amy, pictured as a child, said Daniel Lishman first abused her as he read her a bedtime story in her pink Winnie the Pooh nightie

Over nine years he raped one girl and preyed on at least 12 more, including three with disabilities or learning difficulties.

But Amy, who has waived her anonymity, believes there may be many more who were abused by Lishman, 44.

The case echoes that of black cab rapist John Worboys.

This week Worboys was denied parole after his victims campaigned to keep him behind bars. He was jailed indefinitely in 2009 for attacks on 12 women but may have targeted more than 100.

Lishman was caught after entering a house while posing as a boiler repair man and violently sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl on her own.

Amy, 20, helped bring him to justice after she saw an e-fit image of the paedophile on Crimewatch. Just hours earlier she had finally admitted to her mum what he had done to her.

Amy said: 'I still believe there may be victims of Lishman's that haven't come forward.

'There may even be people out there who were abused before I was and they haven't spoken out.

'There were so many of us when he got sentenced. Who is to say there aren't more?

'I'd urge anyone who suspects they were abused by him to go to the police. Or if they don't feel comfortable with the police to tell a teacher or an adult, a parent... anyone. He should not be on the streets.'

Amy's nightmare began in spring 2006 when Lishman, posing as a TV licence official, began a casual relationship with her mum Tracey Smith, 48.

Amy and her younger brother, then aged three, initially liked 'Dan' because he played hide and seek with them and would read them bedtime stories.

Daniel Lishman, pictured, was jailed for life in 2011. When he was arrested, police found a memory card hidden in his sock containing images of him posing indecently with a blindfolded eight-year-old in the back of his van

Amy's nightmare began in spring 2006 when Lishman, posing as a TV licence official, began a casual relationship with her mum Tracey Smith, 48. She said the first few times he visited all was normal., but then the abuse went on weekly for months until one day Dan stopped texting Amy's mother and disappeared

But matters soon took a sinister turn as the paedo began to take an unusual interest in getting Amy ready for bed.

She said the first few times he visited all was normal.

Amy recalled: 'He'd play tag and play with our toys with us. Me and my little brother really liked him. We'd always ask our mum "Can Dan come over?"

'Mum had not long left my dad so she wasn't looking for anything serious.'

Amy vividly recalls the first night she was touched up by Lishman.

She said: 'He said to my mum, "You sort the little 'un out - my brother - and I'll sort Amy out for bed".

'I remember getting dressed for bed. I was in my pink nightie with Winnie-the-Pooh on the front.

'He got into bed with me and started reading me a Mr Men book. He did things to me. He said not to tell my mum because I'd get into trouble.'

The abuse went on weekly for months until one day later that year Dan stopped texting Amy's mother and disappeared.

Amy kept quiet about what had happened, believing it was normal.

Lishman, pictured, was branded 'every parent's worst nightmare' by the judge

She said: 'Your parents tell you don't talk to strangers and if a stranger touches you, tell an adult. Tell someone.

'But in my eight-year-old brain he wasn't a stranger to me and our family so I thought it was normal.'

It wasn't until Amy was 12 that she realised the awful truth about what had happened to her.

She confided in a cousin, who immediately told her mum.

When police called that evening to take a statement Crimewatch was on TV.

Amy and Tracey were horrified when they saw an e-fit of a man who had forced his way into a Warwickshire home and sexually assaulted a 12-year-old in an airing cupboard.

The child's mother, in a heartbreaking plea, said: 'Hearing your daughter screaming in her sleep "Get off me" or the constant "He's in my head, he's in my head" is so difficult to deal with.'

Amy said: 'As soon as I saw the e-fit we looked at each other and just said: "That's Dan."' That attack, in February 2010, made Amy realise there must be other victims.

Lishman, then 37, was already in custody. Lishman, of Raunds, Northamptonshire, was convicted of rape and 12 sexual assaults, including on three youngsters with disabilities or learning difficulties, as well as for having hundreds of indecent images of children.

He used his experience of jobs as a TV licensing officer and a mobile dog groomer to pose as a worker allowing him to hunt down more vulnerable children.

He also posed as a cop to assault two young girls. Lishman had been a Northamptonshire officer from 1995 to 2002 but was forced to quit after a woman made sexual allegations against him.

In 2011 he was jailed for life at Coventry Crown Court and told he must serve at least 11 years.

It wasn't until Amy was 12 that she realised the awful truth about what had happened to her. She said: 'In my eight-year-old brain he wasn't a stranger to me and our family so I thought it was normal'

Amy said: 'I'm scared of him getting parole. It's something that crosses my mind quite a lot. It's scary knowing maybe one day soon he's going to be out.'

Trial judge Peter Carr said it would not be an exaggeration to describe Lishman as 'every parent's worst nightmare' telling him: 'You are in my view an intelligent but also cunning, devious and extremely plausible man.'

Tracey went to the court hearing and saw Lishman smirk at her from the dock.

Amy said the attacks have hit her confidence as well as her ability to form relationships and her self-esteem.

Her dream of becoming a police officer has been shattered by Lishman.She is wary of older men and had to swap a customer-facing job for a desk position at an insurance company.

Amy has also had monthly therapy since she was 13 and finds relationships tricky.

She said: 'It made me see men in a different light. I was very afraid of men as I was growing up.

'The guy could be as innocent as anything but I'd freak out. I didn't want them to touch me because I felt dirty.

'I go by the saying now "Never a victim always a survivor". I survived it and got through it.

'I want to tell people that whether the abuser was a stranger, a family friend or a relative, it isn't your fault.

'If someone thinks differently of you because of it, they're not worth it.'

Peter Saunders, from the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said: 'It's extremely difficult for the victim to speak out.

'Thankfully many are now feeling less afraid to speak out because of survivors like Amy who share their experiences.'