A minicab driver who raped his young victim as she slept on the back seat of his car has been jailed for six years.

The 20 year old had no recollection of the first attack, which took place in the car park of Wimbledon station.

But she woke up when Muhammed Abrar, 36, tried to rape her again in Hartfield Road.

When faced with DNA evidence, he tried to claim that the sex was consensual.

A jury unanimously decided on September 9 that he was lying and found him guilty.

DC Barry Smith, of Wandsworth Sapphire Unit, said: "This man took advantage of a vulnerable woman who had fallen asleep in his car and then lied to try and cover up his crime.

"Despite overwhelming evidence he denied the charge and forced the victim to give evidence about her ordeal in court.

"She has been left extremely distressed.

"This case shows the importance of making sure you only use licensed taxis and cabs to get yourself home safely especially when you are more vulnerable because of alcohol."

CCTV cameras, which helped police track Abrar's vehicle, have also been credited with helping bring about a significant drop in crime at Wimbledon station.

In 2004/5, 209 offences were committed at the station, compared to 336 the previous year.

This is in line with a 26 per cent fall in crime at railway, Tube and tram stations throughout the borough.

The most notable drop has been in criminal damage, typically graffiti, which has more than halved from 181 offences to 86.

However, there has been a slight rise in robbery, from 32 to 34 offences.

And Colliers Wood station has bucked the trend, with the number of offences rising from 26 to 37, although most of this is accounted for by a rise in people caught ticket dodging.

The British Transport Police's Chief Inspector David Dickason said: "The drop is probably because on the Underground we have got resource policing and at mainline stations we have been targeting specific areas where we have got problems for instance, with street drinkers at Morden station.

"At mainline stations we have been conducting high profile patrols and by going out and dealing with minor offences, you often find that stops the more serious offences from taking place as well.

"It is pleasing and hopefully we can reduce the figures even more this year."

jbowring@london.newsquest.co.uk