A 39-year-old man has been convicted at Maidstone Crown Court on two counts of rape and two of indecent assault after a case review matched his DNA profile with police records.

Paul Collings was found guilty of all four charges following a joint operation between Kent Police and Sussex Police.

The offences took place at the University of Kent at Canterbury in December 1989, and Sussex University at Falmer, near Brighton, in October 1989. At that time, the women he attacked were 18 and 21 respectively.

Collings, unemployed, from Icklesham, near Rye, was trapped as part of Operation Advance, when he was arrested in 2004 and DNA samples were taken. These were compared with samples already held and a match obtained.

Collings was arrested in December 2004 and charged with the offences. He had denied the charges. Sentencing has been adjourned until March 17.

Kent’s senior investigating officer Det Chief Insp Mick Judge said: “We are committed to reviewing unresolved serious crime and no case is ever closed. The message is clear – people who commit these crimes won’t get away with it and we will bring offenders to justice through this and other new technologies.

“We are determined to ensure that victims receive the justice they deserve. The effect of this cannot be underestimated.

“The advances in the development of DNA technology and the review of these cases have helped to solve these two crimes dating back to 1989 and bring a serious offender to justice.”

Karl Barrow, from the Home Office Police Standards Unit, said: “Operation Advance is a hugely successful and pioneering project, developed by the Home Office Police Standards Unit and the Forensic Science Service.

“This project is the first time ever that a major review of undetected serious crimes has been carried out using a 'science first' approach to the investigation rather than a conventional re-investigation.

“The remarkable advances in science which have identified Collings and made this conviction possible would have counted for nothing had it not been for the courage and determination of the two victims to give evidence if required.

"Also the dogged determination and sheer professionalism of the Kent Police team who have built and managed this case so successfully with the Crown Prosecution Service and Forensic Science Service."