A notorious rapist - once branded Britain’s most wanted man - is set to be released from prison after being locked up for the last 34 years.
Andrew Barlow was convicted of 11 rapes, three attempted rapes, indecent assault, and using a firearm to resist arrest.
He was handed multiple life sentences in 1988 and his tariff was fixed at 20 years.
And it has emerged Barlow has already spent time outside of jail as he prepares to taste freedom.
In recent decades, Barlow, formerly Andrew Longmire, has been linked to more offending as previously unsolved cases were cracked.
He went on two separate campaigns of terror between 1981 and 1988, raping women in five different counties.
During his arrest in January 1988, Barlow opened fire with a shotgun as police officers detained him.
As most of his victims were attacked in their own terraced homes in the north of England - the majority in Manchester - he was dubbed ‘The Coronation Street rapist’. Two of the attacks took place in the street.
Preying upon teenagers and young mother, he would conduct days of reconnaissance to work out their domestic routines, attacking the victims when husbands or partners had left for work.
Barlow, who lived in Bolton and Oldham, was a Category A prisoner until this was downgraded to B in 2010.
The Parole Board confirmed his imminent release, reports the Manchester Evening News, after a decision made on November 30.
It was the eighth time his case had been reviewed by the board since the end of his 20-year tariff.
A Parole Board Decision Summary said Barlow had “successfully undertaken periods of temporary release where he was escorted by a prison officer”.
The summary added: “The panel examined the release plan provided by Mr Barlow’s probation officer and weighed its proposals against assessed risks.
“The plan included a requirement to reside in designated accommodation as well as strict limitations on Mr Barlow’s contacts, movements and activities.
“The panel concluded this plan was robust enough to manage Mr Barlow in the community at this stage.”
The panel also considered evidence from a prison service psychologist while a second psychologist commissioned on behalf of Barlow recommended his release.
The summary found at the time of his offending, Barlow had been “thinking about sex a lot, thinking he had the right to have sex as and when he wanted and thinking it was acceptable to use sexual violence. He had a chaotic way of life, misused substances and struggled to control extreme emotions.”
His behaviour while in custody has been “good” for many years, it said, and Barlow had obtained educational and vocational qualifications.
His release will be subject to licencing conditions including residing at a designated address, being of good behaviour, and disclosing developing relationships.
He will be subject to “enhanced” form supervision, including drug testing, GPS trail monitoring, polygraph testing and a specified curfew.
While behind bars in 2010, Barlow was convicted of a historic rape committed in September 1981 in Sheffield. He threatened a woman with a foot-long screwdriver while masked before attacking her.
Barlow was caught after a ‘cold-case review’ by South Yorkshire Police.
In 2017, he was convicted of the rape of a 15-year-old girl in Great Lever, Bolton, in January 1982.
The Parole Board said in a statement: “We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has directed the release of Andrew Barlow following an oral hearing.
“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
“A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.”
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