The Bristol Groper is behind bars today and will stay there for some years.

Perhaps he should have got a more severe sentence.

After all, six years hardly ever means that these days.

For Benjamin Jackson posed a real threat to women.

He assaulted four and left countless others fearful of walking the streets.

And no one should ever under-estimate what he did. None of the women who were attacked will ever forget what happened.

And surely none of them will ever walk alone at night again. Even if they do, they will carry with them the anxiety of a further assault.

What Jackson did was to undermine the confidence and the freedom of thousands of women in Bristol.

And there was always the possibility that his assaults could have become far worse.

For as long as he remains shut away, he poses no threat.

But that time will be wasted unless real efforts are made to treat him. For his actions are not those of someone who is mentally stable.

It is equally important that his addition to the sex offenders' register has some purpose to it and that he will be watched closely when eventually he is released, because people who prey on others have always to be treated with suspicion.

There will be people who will talk about his rights, his rehabilitation and the need to give him a second chance.

Frankly, the moment he crept up on the first woman walking alone in the dark and laid his hands on her was the moment he forfeited his right to be regarded as a normal member of society.

Whatever is done for him must be done with the safety of others in mind. And if that makes life in the future difficult for him, well so be it.