Two siblings have bravely teamed up after decades apart to get their “entrenched paedophile” dad jailed - after enduring years of rape and sexual abuse.

Gay Melrose and younger brother Mark Doye were just eight and six respectively when their biological dad, Brian Doye, 77, began abusing them.

Doye, a senior firefighter, was seen as a “respected” member of the community in Gravesend and had planned to run for council and foster children.

But behind closed doors, his children said they were living in a “house of horrors”.

He first raped Gay, who now lives in Dartford, when she was aged eight - with him warning she would be “killed” if she ever spoke out about it.

Abuse became “the norm” and the now 56-year-old said her dad would leave notes under the pillow that read: “Be ready I’m coming in tonight.”

On one occasion, aged 10, she managed to escape his clutches during a trip to the family caravan.

But she returned to see Doye had turned his attention on her little brother Mark – raping him for the first time, aged six.

Gay left home aged 18 and Mark at 16, and the siblings didn’t see each other for decades as they attempted to forget their past.

But the pair found the courage to report Doye 40 years later - and he was charged with 27 counts of rape and sexual abuse.

He denied the charges but was found guilty on all counts during a trial at Swansea Crown Court in April.

Doye was sentenced to 28 years in prison the following month and placed on the sex offenders register for life.

The siblings have both now waived their right to anonymity to tell their story and aim to set up a charity helpline to support other survivors of abuse.

Gay, who runs her own beauty business in Dartford, said: “He pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes.

“He was senior fireman and he even played Father Christmas each year.

“But behind closed doors we were living in a house of horrors.

“The guilt for not stepping forward sooner ate away at us, but we hope we can help people now.”

Doye launched a campaign of abuse against Gay and Mark which started in the early 1970s.

Gay added: “He would say ‘It’s what all dads do to with their daughters’.

“We blocked out years of abuse. But I’ll never forget walking into that caravan and seeing him rape Mark for the first time.

“It should have been me and I’ll never forgive myself.

“From that moment on, I just let him do whatever he wanted to me to try and save my
brother.”

The pair fled in their late teens and moved to different cities - where they tried to forget what had happened.

But the abuse stayed with them, and Mark said it affected his relationship with his own children – he couldn’t bathe them or change their nappies.

Mark, a site manager, who now lives in Ely, Cambridge, said: “It wasn’t until we were older that we understand what he was doing, and how it was wrong.

“I blamed myself for years and felt immense guilt.”

Decades later, in 2022, police knocked on Gay’s door to tell them a third unrelated victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had reported Brian for sexual abuse.

Gay and Mark, now 52, bravely agreed to report their father for the historical abuse they had suffered at his hands.

Gay said: “When I saw the police, I thought they were going to say my dad was dead.

“But to hear there was another victim was utterly heartbreaking. We knew we had the chance to make things right.”

Mark added: “We should have reported years ago. You’ll never get that guilt out of your head, but we knew we had to step forward now.”

Doye was charged with 27 counts including raping a child, attempted rape of a child,
indecent assault of a child and buggery of a child.

Several of the charges relating to Gay referenced these incidences happening at least 10 times – including the rape.

Brian Doye, who was most recently living in Ystalyfera, a village in Wales, was found guilty of all the charges following the trial.

The judge branded him an “entrenched paedophile” who hide under a “cloak of responsibility” as a fireman.

Gay said: “I was so proud of Mark for being there and facing him with me.

“Our dad sat there, yawning at times, like it was boring to him.

“But it was such a relief hearing the sentencing. I want people to know that has hard as it, you can do.

“You can carry on and things will get better.”

Mark added: “The main reason we want our name out there is to encourage others to come forward, and set-up a helpline for victims.

“Also there’s a lot of stigma around men not reporting rape and sexual abuse.

“I really want to help change that culture.”