CCTV at a mental health unit where a 60-year-old woman was raped was not working when the attack took place.

The woman, who has a mental condition, was attacked last Friday in her private room at a unit in Ealing, west London.

West London Mental Health NHS Trust said although there was a single CCTV camera on the main entrance, the videotape had run out.

Police had hoped images from the hospital's cameras would help them discover the identity of the attacker.

'Immediate changes'

A spokesman for the Trust said: "Regrettably our initial review shows procedures were not in place to adequately ensure 24-hour recording.

"It is our responsibility to ensure these procedures are in place and we have made immediate changes to ensure such a breakdown cannot happen again."

A nurse who interrupted the attack described the rapist as being of Caribbean origin, 6ft tall, slim and aged 40 to 45 with short grey hair and a round, clean shaven face.

Terminal cancer

He was wearing blue jeans and white trainers and is thought to have spoken with a Trinidadian accent.

Detective Chief Inspector David Poole, who is leading the investigation, said the incident was "a sickening attack on an extremely vulnerable member of our community".

The attack came just weeks after the rape of a 71-year-old woman suffering from terminal cancer in a toilet at King's College Hospital, south London.