The host family of a German student raped on her way to their home have called for extra vigilance to protect future visitors.

The couple were racked with guilt after their 18-year-old guest, who had been in Brighton less than two weeks, was brutally assaulted.

Trainee parking warden Michael Stanley Phillips, 25, of Plymouth Avenue, Bevendean, was jailed for ten years last week for the horrific sex attack.

Thousands of foreign students visit the city every year on English language courses and many businesses rely on their cash.

Now the rape victim's Brighton host family have called for host families to ensure they warn youngsters of potential dangers.

The father told our reporter: "I just hope the publicity this case has had will make other host families extra vigilant.

"People must realise these young people could be seen as easy targets among people such as Phillips.

"He picked a student because he didn't think she would be around to identify him. Fortunately he was wrong."

He added: "We were her substitute parents and we did feel a lot of guilt at what happened, even though we knew it wasn't our fault.

"We always warn our students to be careful but when you are on holiday you forget because you're there to enjoy yourself.

"This sort of attack is rare and we don't want to alarm students but they must be made aware of the dangers."

The family have continued taking in student guests despite the attack.

The father, who praised police for their support during the investigation, said: "We already had two students booked up afterwards. We sat down and discussed what we should do.

"We knew it could be awkward but we decided to go ahead. We didn't feel we should have our lives changed.

"We didn't want him to feel he had damaged us and we wanted to keep as much normality as possible for our children."