TWO years ago Susan George’s life was in tatters after she was brutally raped by her ex-boyfriend, but now she has turned her back on the horrific ordeal and is making a new life for herself helping other victims.

On December 28, 2007, Ms George was woken by a banging noise coming from her attic.

When she went downstairs to let the dog out, her ex-boyfriend, Michael Glyn Thomas, forced his way in wielding a hammer. In the hours that followed Thomas raped her twice.

The terrifying ordeal only came to an end when Ms George managed to tell a petrol station attendant what had happened when they went to get cigarettes, and he alerted police.

Ms George, waived her anonymity to encourage victims to come forward to protect other women from falling prey to rapists.

In the months following Thomas’ conviction, Ms George slowly started putting her life back together, attending counselling sessions and regaining the confidence to go out alone.

Now she is a qualified counsellor after completing a course at Coleg Gwent’s Ebbw Vale campus and is in her second year of a BSc degree in professional development, focussing on crisis and trauma management.

Ms George said she has taken her horrific ordeal and tried to turn it into something positive to try and help others who have had similar experiences.

At first she found the course hard-going, as it forced her to confront some of her psychological issues caused by the attack, but it has also helped her to understand what she went through.

Ms George said: “It’s very difficult for victims because at the time you are in such a black hole you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, but with help and the right support you can get through it. You never forget what happened, but it’s over and you deal with it and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

She said the help and support she got from her Coleg Gwent course mentor, Kevin Arscott, was “paramount” in helping her get to where she is today.

Ms George is working with Victim Support and also with Gwent Police officers involved in the Serious Sexual and Violent Crime unit to help victims of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence.

She said that one of the main issues she has come across is the need for an overhaul of the criminal justice system, which she believes is more concerned with protocol than with providing victims with the support they need.

Ms George said: “The police are moving forward all the time in their attitude towards rape and sexual assault and recognising that victims have trauma, but the criminal justice system needs to catch them up because it is letting the police down.”

As well as working as a counsellor, Ms George has set up her own website for rape victims, telling her story and offering support and advice to those in need.

She said the website (www.rapecounselling.co.uk) is in its early days, but she hopes people will share their stories and take inspiration from the way she has got through it.

Difficult case for police

Throughout the investigation and the resultant court case, Ms George said she gained a lot of strength through her sexual offences liaison officer DC Claire Hopkins and investigating officer DC Alec Webley.

Last week, DC Webley, DC Hopkins and DS Glyn Davies were praised at Gwent Police’s Chief Constable’s commendations evening for their efforts in bringing Thomas to justice.

Ms George said: “It was a difficult case and it’s wasn’t straight forward because it went back 25 years and he was a serial rapist. They more than deserve the awards.”

Michael Glyn Thomas, 45, formerly of Dolau ys Coed, Fforest Coalpit, is serving an indeterminate sentence, after he was found guilty of seven counts of rape on three women, attempted rape, sexual assault and three counts of indecent assault in January 2009.

He was also convicted of two charges of false imprisonment, two of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and making threats to kill.

The offences, which involved four different women, took place between August 31, 1986 and December 28, 2007.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Brave survivor is inspiration

IT was two years ago when we first featured the harrowing story of Susan George.

Ms George waived her right to anonymity to tell us of her brutal rape at the hands of her ex-boyfriend.

Michael Glyn Thomas forced his way into her house, threatening her with a hammer before raping her twice.

It is an attack so horrible that most of can’t imagine what it would be like to be in Ms George’s shoes.

How on earth do you ever recover from something like that?

Incredibly, two years on, Ms George now tells us that she has somehow managed to make a new life for herself and is now helping other rape victims overcome terrible ordeals.

She is now a qualified counsellor after completing a course at Coleg Gwent’s Ebbw Vale campus and is in her second year of a BSc degree in professional development, focussing on crisis and trauma management.

Ms George said she has taken her horrific ordeal and tried to turn it into something positive to try and help others who have had similar experiences.

She is working with Victim Support and also with Gwent Police officers involved in the Serious Sexual and Violent Crime unit to help victims of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence.

It is an amazing turnaround in such a shocking story.

Very few people have the guts and determination Ms George shows and we applaud her for this incredible achievement against all the odds.

Her story will hopefully also be an inspiration to other victims of crime.