Ernest John Wallace, 60, from Newcastle, was charged following work by Northumbria Police's cold case review, Operation Phoenix.

It followed attacks in Newcastle on an 11-year-old girl in 1981 and a 19-year-old woman in 1977.

On Monday, Wallace pleaded guilty to both offences at Newcastle Crown Court.

The case was adjourned for sentence later this month.

On 15 November 1981, an 11-year-old girl was waiting at a bus stop on Armstrong Road, next to Hodgkin Park, when she was grabbed from behind by a man who covered her mouth and dragged her to the park.

Forensic analysis

She was threatened with violence and forced to remove her clothes before being raped.

The incident was reported to the police but, despite extensive investigations, the offender was not found.

In 2003, when Operation Phoenix looked again at evidence from the scene and used new forensic analysis, a DNA profile was obtained which hit against Wallace.

He was arrested and a case was being prepared against him when more work by Operation Phoenix linked him to another offence in 1977.

It involved a 19-year-old who was sleeping in the nurses' home at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary when she woke to find a man standing near the doorway. He raped her after threatening to stab her.