A Deliveroo rider who raped a vulnerable woman after finding her unconscious on a west London street has been jailed for 21 years.

Salem Rekoub, 28, targeted the woman after she became unwell while travelling home following a night out with friends.

Prosecutors said he found her collapsed on the pavement in Chelsea before dragging her away from public view and repeatedly raping her as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

The court heard Rekoub was working illegally as a food delivery rider at the time despite not being a verified Deliveroo courier. Prosecutor Patricia May said there had been "incomplete checks" as to whether he should have been working, The Sun reports.

Sentencing Rekoub at Isleworth Crown Court, the judge described him as a danger to the public. Rekoub was convicted of three counts of rape and two counts of assault by penetration after a trial.

Ms May told the court the victim had been enjoying an evening with friends before becoming unwell on her journey home.

"The victim had been out with friends having a nice evening. She had to get off a bus when she was travelling home because she felt unwell," she said.

After losing consciousness, she was found by Rekoub, a complete stranger.

Ms May said: "He leant his Deliveroo bike against a wall and dragged her down a side road which was away from the public. While she was there he pulled her between two cars, and as she was shifting in and out of consciousness he committed all the offences against her."

The court heard the woman was left with 33 bruises across her body following the attack. Rekoub tried to cover up what had happened by providing false information to emergency services and police, saying the woman had drunk too much alcohol.

He later gave officers a false name while claiming to be a concerned passer-by.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of Rekoub following the victim's ambulance to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where he was seen walking through corridors and looking into treatment areas. Hospital staff eventually challenged him after he spent time searching for the woman.

The victim later disclosed the rape to paramedics and Rekoub was arrested nine days later.

In a victim impact statement, the woman described the lasting effect of the attack, saying: "This has destroyed my life and I am not the same person."

The woman told the court she had been left "in a constant state of fear" and had suffered severe mental health difficulties since the attack. The court heard she has experienced seizures, spent time in a mental health treatment centre and remained deeply traumatised more than two years later.

Rekoub’s defence told the court he had come to Britain from Algeria after experiencing violence there and had previously been a talented footballer before suffering a serious knee injury.

In a statement read to the court, Rekoub said: "I am deeply sorry for everything."*

A Deliveroo spokesperson said: "We are appalled by these truly horrific crimes and our thoughts are with the victims and their families.

"This individual was not a verified rider on our platform, but a criminal who abused our systems to gain access illegally.

"We have since significantly strengthened the measures to control who can access our platform – and continue to invest to combat any abuse."