POLICE have scotched rumours circulating that notorious 'black cab rapist' John Worboys is living in Blackburn.

Officers confirmed on Facebook and Twitter that the 61-year-old was not in the area, and is in fact still in prison.

Worboys, who is now known as John Radford, was jailed in 2009 for assaults on 12 women in London.

Addressing rumours that the convicted rapist was living in the town, a police spokesman said: "We are aware of rumours circulating locally on Facebook that convicted London black cab rapist John Worboys has been released from prison and is staying in the Blackburn area.

"We can reassure people that this is definitely not the case and Worboys remains in prison.

"We’d ask people to refrain from sharing any incorrect information in relation to this on social media."

It was announced over the weekend that crime victims are to be given new powers to challenge the release of violent offenders after a parole system review was sparked by the case of Worboys.

Rather than launching a costly and time-consuming court challenge to Parole Board decisions, they will be able to apply directly to the Justice Secretary to overturn them, current minister David Gauke said.

The challenge system, which has to be launched within 21 days of victims being notified of a decision to release, will only apply to the most serious of offenders serving lengthy jail terms.

The review came after a decision to release Worboys in 2018, after almost a decade behind bars, was only overturned following a judicial review.

He had been jailed indefinitely in 2009, with a minimum term of eight years, for 19 offences relating to violent sex attacks including rapes on 12 victims.

The new power is among a series of reforms to the parole system due to be announced by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) this week.

Mr Gauke said: "This landmark reform will for the first time empower victims to hold the Parole Board to account for its decision and help restore public confidence in the important work that it does."

The new system will apply to Indeterminate Sentence Prisoners (ISPs), which include those serving a life sentence and those, like Worboys, sentenced to Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP).

It would also apply to those serving extended sentences - where prison terms are bolstered by ordering the convicted criminal to serve more time on licence afterwards than would usually be the case.