Josef Fritzl lusted after his mother

London, May 9 : In one of his confessions, sex beast Josef Fritzl revealed that he wanted to have sex with his own mother.

The 73-year-old made the confession to his lawyer as he tried to explain his appalling crimes against his children.

He admitted the "strong woman" was a key influence in shaping his twisted psyche - as was growing up in Nazi Austria during World War II.

Fritzl told how as a youngster he developed a fixation on his mother Rosa because she was "the best woman in the world" - and said he had to fight his urge to have a sexual relationship with her.

"My father was somebody who was a waster, he never took responsibility and was just a loser who always cheated on my mother," The Sun quoted him, as saying.

"When I was four she quite rightly threw him out the house. After that my mother and I had no contact with this man, he did not interest us. Suddenly there were only us two.

"My mother was a strong woman, she taught me discipline and control and the values of hard work.

"She sent me to a good school so I could learn a good trade and she worked really hard, and took a very difficult job to keep our heads above water," he said.

Describing his relationship with his mum, Fritzl added: "When I say she was hard on me, she was only as hard as was necessary.

"She was the best woman in the world. I suppose you could describe me as her man, sort of. She was the boss at home and I was the only man in the house.

"It's complete rubbish to say my mother sexually abused me. My mother was respectable, extremely respectable. I loved her across all boundaries. I was completely and totally in awe of her. That did not mean there was anything else between us, though. There never was and there never would have been."

Asked by lawyer Rudolf Mayer if he had ever fantasised about a relationship with his mum, he paused before answering: "Yes, probably.

"But I was a very strong man, probably as strong as my mother, and as a result I was capable to keep my desires under control. I became older and I managed to meet other women. I had affairs with a few girls and then a short while later I met Rosemarie."

ANI