A man who followed a lone woman on her way home from hospital and raped her in Golders Green has been jailed for nine years.

Adhnon Marrtab was sentenced at Harrow Crown Court on Friday, July 16, after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to rape and sexual assault by penetration.

The 24-year-old, of no fixed address, attacked the victim in a church yard on October 25 last year after approaching her at a bus stop.

Marrtab - arrested outside a hotel in Wembley six days after carrying out the assault - was charged on November 2.

Det Con Pat Leonte, who led the investigation, said: "We went to great lengths to identify and reprimand Marrtab.

"We trawled mass amounts of CCTV footage across multiple days and worked alongside various specialist teams in pursuit of him.

"Thanks to the brave victim’s compelling evidence and the work of the wider investigation team, this dangerous man is now behind bars."

On the night of the attack, a 28-year-old woman was discharged from a hospital around 3.45am and began to make her way home on the bus.

She got off the bus at Golders Green Station and went to a nearby shop before crossing the road and waiting for another bus.

The woman then noticed a man, later identified as Marrtab, crossing the road and walking towards her.

Despite her shouting out in an attempt to discourage him from speaking to her, he got closer and grabbed her phone out of her hand.

As the woman pushed him away and tried to escape, Marrtab grabbed her and kept following her, making sexual comments.

He then raped and assaulted her in a church yard before she escaped and jumped over a large fence then ran off to seek help.

The breakthrough moment in the case came from CCTV footage which captured Marrtab boarding a bus and tapping on his Oyster card.

A history of his travel was later obtained and a pattern of travel emerged.

The 24-year-old was circulated as wanted on police systems and a manhunt was launched.

When he was in custody, a body search of Marrtab revealed a large bite mark on his shoulder, which further linked him to the attack.

The victim had told detectives that she bit the perpetrator with strength and expected this would leave a noticeable mark.