A rapist who carried out two near-identical sex attacks 12 years apart by luring lone women into his car has been jailed.

Fareed Issa Tariq, 43, was imprisoned for 18 years at Swindon Crown Court on Wednesday after he was convicted of rape at the same court in February.

He lured a woman into his car as she waited for a taxi after a night out in Swindon on April 15 last year.

During the journey he touched her inappropriately before driving her to a layby where he raped her, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

The fact he committed a strikingly similar crime over a decade ago shows he is devoid of remorse and remains a threat to the public

Tariq, of Barnum Court, Swindon, had carried out a near-identical attack in 2011 when he offered a woman a lift after she had been on a night out in Swindon, drove her to a secluded area and raped her.

He was jailed for six years in 2012.

The Ministry of Justice said any probation requirements would have expired at the end of Tariq’s sentence in 2017. Wiltshire Police has been asked if he was put on the sex offenders’ register when he was sentenced.

Lisa Garcia, senior crown prosecutor with CPS Wessex, said: “Fareed Tariq is a danger to women.

“Not only did he pose as a taxi driver to prey on a lone victim, Tariq then cruelly tried to blame her for his depraved crime.

“The fact he committed a strikingly similar crime over a decade ago shows he is devoid of remorse and remains a threat to the public.

“We hope his conviction sends a clear message that the CPS is committed to prosecuting rape cases and that we will always strive to deliver justice for victims.”