Notorious Cambridge rapist Peter Cook has died in prison of natural causes.

Cook, 75, raped six women and injured two others in a series of sex attacks carried out over eight months in Cambridge.

He was also convicted of committing an act of gross indecency on a ninth woman.

Cook was known as the "hooded rapist" because of a bizarre leather mask he wore during his crimes.

In 1975, he was given two life sentences after his trial at Norwich Crown Court.

A Home Office spokesman confirmed Cook had died on Wednesday night. He said: "A prisoner died at HMP Winchester. Peter Samuel Cook was pronounced dead at 8.50pm on Wednesday."

Cook was finally caught following one of Britain's biggest manhunts. He broke into his victims' flats and bedsits to carry out his vicious attacks. For months, he created an atmosphere of fear and panic among young women in Cambridge.

But it was his penchant for strange disguises that gave him away. A police officer spotted him trying to cycle away from an attack wearing a long blonde wig.