A HEARTBROKEN father has made a plea for help to curb his son's violence against women.

Ernest Williams, of North Avenue, Orford, fears son Mark, who is in prison after being cleared of rape but convicted of false imprisonment, could do the same again if he's not given specialist help.

He says his son has been branded a "beast" and an "animal," but he believes Mark isn't a bad lad - he just needs treatment.

"Mark is highly emotional and he's in an awful state. He just can't handle relationships with women. He can't even explain it himself. He gets very obsessed and becomes possessive."

When Williams received a five-year jail sentence for false imprisonment, later reduced to three by the Court of Appeal, his victim received a terrifying letter written from his prison cell.

"I am far from forgetting what you have done to me," it said. "It will be slow and painful when I catch up with you."

Ernest said: "When he wrote the letter Mark had become enraged and she was the centre of it. He regretted it immediately.

"I don't know how his problem started," he said. "I think something happened when he was young. Other children taunted him because he said he wanted to be a farmer.

"He was a great kid, but they gave him a dog's life. At about the age of 16, he started to change. He's an enigma - very secretive but generous, helpful, sensitive and a very talented, creative person.

"But there's something in his psyche which has gone wrong. I'd like to know what causes it. Mark gets angry and out of control, it takes over him, then he's sorry afterwards.

"The past few years have been a strain for the whole family. My wife Mona has been ill because of it.

"Last time it happened, I had just come out of hospital and I came home to find the police there, taking things from the house for evidence. I felt lousy.

"Mark's problem has taken over his adult life. He says it's like a whirlpool within him and he doesn't understand how to get out of it.

"We give him support and the family visits him regularly. People who know him feel sorry for him. I do hope something can be done soon, otherwise I don't know what could happen."

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