A French cook who raped a woman in the city while she was sound asleep has been jailed for six years.

Julien Mauro had been drinking with his victim and her friend when he invited them back to his home.

The 32-year-old denied raping the woman after coaxing her into his bedroom, but was found guilty by a jury.

Passing sentence Judge Adele Williams told him: "While the victim was happy to sleep on the settee you insisted she should sleep in your bedroom.

"You took advantage of her by raping her. She had been sound asleep while this rape took place, but was horrified when she woke up."

"Mauro has no remorse or insight into his offending which makes any mitigation rather difficult" - James Howard, defending

According to his own defence barrister, Mauro had shown no remorse for the attack in February this year.

James Howard, defending, told Canterbury Crown Court: "Mauro has no remorse or insight into his offending which makes any mitigation rather difficult.

"He had no previous convictions until this year. He is a chef and has never been unemployed and was a useful and productive member of society until this particular night."

Laura Philips, prosecuting, said the victim now suffered from anxiety attacks and felt dirty and unable to enter into a relationship.

Mauro, now of no fixed address, had previous convictions for possessing a knife, cannabis and ecstasy, for which he had been fined.

Just weeks before the rape in February, Mauro had appeared in Canterbury Magistrates' Court for the offences.

The bench heard how he was caught with a chef's knife in The Loft bar in St Margaret's Street when staff told police they suspected he had drugs on him.

Mauro, a chef at Canterbury’s former Quex Barn restaurant at the time, said he needed the knife for cutting meat and pigskin and had forgotten he was carrying it.

Police found a small sealed bag containing herbal cannabis in his jeans. When strip-searched at the police station officers also found a grip-seal bag containing ecstasy.

Mauro was fined a total of £550 for the offences, committed in November last year.