A RAPIST who abducted two teenage girls was jailed for 10 years yesterday.

Grant McPherson, 22, ran a knife up and down the body of one of his victims before raping her and sexually assaulting her friend.

But the High Court in Edinburgh heard that a psychiatrist who examined him did not consider he clearly posed a continuing danger, if his offending was addressed.

McPherson, formerly of Northburn Place, Airdrie, earlier admitted abducting the two 17-year-olds on a public footpath in January this year.

He also pled guilty to raping one of the girls and indecently attacking the other after forcing them into a wooded area.

He threatened the girls with violence and ordered them not to scream.

He forced the rape victim to strip and drew a large kitchen knife up and down her body. He forced her to commit a sex act, before raping her.

Her friend was also forced to take off her clothing. McPherson sexually assaulted her, and later threatened to kill her.

After the attacks McPherson told his victims he had not finished and ordered the girls to dress. But as he drank from a bottle of cider the teenagers tried to make a break for it. The rape victim could not flee because of her type of shoes, but her friend managed to escape.

Advocate-depute Peter Gray told the court that as the teenager ran through the trees she looked back and saw McPherson chasing her, armed with the knife.

The girl managed to scale a fence and escape, despite McPherson grabbing at her ankle.

The other girl went in the opposite direction. They both reached safety and were later able to identify their attacker, despite him having masked his face with a Rangers hat with eye slits cut into it.

Defence solicitor advocate Desmond Finnieston said that McPherson could offer no explanation for the crime, apart from his having taken cannabis and alcohol that night.

He said that a psychiatric report on McPherson might allow the case to be viewed as ''awful and terrible conduct'' that was a one-off.

He said that McPherson had faced up to what he had done and co-operated with the police.

Lord Kingarth told the rapist that he took into account that he was a relatively young man who had not previously committed offences of this type.

The judge said that by pleading guilty McPherson had spared his victims the further ordeal of having to give evidence about the incident.

''In light of the full report asked for from the psychiatrist I take account of the absence of clear expert evidence suggesting you pose a continuing danger to the public,'' the judge said.

Lord Kingarth added: ''But the offences to which you have pleaded guilty . . . require to taken extremely seriously.''

As well as jailing McPherson for 10 years the judge ordered that he be put on the sex offenders' register.