A VIDEO being distributed across London could hold the key to catching a balaclava-clad rapist who has attacked pensioners in their homes.

Detectives involved in Operation Minstead will be distributing 720 videos to police officers across the capital and parts of Kent, Surrey and Sussex

Featuring Nick Ross, the video will alert officers who could meet the man in an unconnected incident. It encourages them to notify the investigation team of potential suspects and to take DNA mouth swabs when charging.

Detectives have linked 66 burglaries in the Bromley, Lewisham, Bexley, and Croydon boroughs and also in Warlingham, Surrey, between 1992 and 1999.

The rapist is known to have assaulted four women aged between 65 and 92, after entering their homes at night. He usually targets homes without burglar alarms, cuts the phone line, removes whole panes of glass and switches off the electricity before entering.

The most recent DNA-linked offence was on an elderly woman in Orpington, on August 5, 1999. She was left with serious internal injuries and needed surgery.

DCI David Zinzan said: The video could hold a breakthrough, everyday more and more people are added to the DNA database and every single sample is compared against outstanding crime scenes, including Minstead.

It is highly possible that through this video my team will have contact with officers who may have moved away from the area where they may first have met this offender.