A Bradford minicab driver has been jailed for more than seven years for raping a passenger who fell asleep as he drove her home to Baildon.

Mohammed Shahin, 28, subjected his 20-year-old victim to what police described as a “sickening attack” after picking her up in Leeds where she had been on a night out.

It was later found that Shahin had switched off the GPS tracking system that monitored his vehicle’s movements from the moment the woman got in, suggesting he had a sinister motive from the outset.

The 28-year-old, of Fitzroy Road, Bradford Moor, pleaded guilty to rape and was jailed at Nottingham Crown Court to seven and a half years in prison.

The judge also ordered that he be deported to his home country of Bangladesh after serving his sentence.

The court heard that Shahin picked up his victim in Duncan Street, just off The Calls clubs and bar area of Leeds, after she had been on a night out with two friends whom she left to get into the cab in the early hours of September 30 last year.

She asked to be taken to her home in Baildon but fell asleep on the way.

When she woke, she found that Shahin had parked in a remote lane in an unknown location – believed to have been in the Menston area.

He climbed into the back of the car and raped her before dropping her off near her home.

During the inquiry police issued an e-fit from a detailed description given by his traumatised victim.

Shahin was arrested within weeks of the attack and charged with rape.

After the case, Detective Chief Inspector Scott Wood, of West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry team, paid tribute to the woman’s bravery in providing crucial evidence to his team of detectives.

“Shahin abused of his position as a private hire driver to take advantage of a vulnerable woman and we are pleased to see him behind bars for the extremely serious crimes he committed,” said Det Chief Insp Wood.

“He subjected his victim to a sickening attack and we would like to give credit to her bravery in the way she dealt with the situation and assisted the police in bringing Shahin to justice.”

e-mail: rhys.thomas@telegraphandargus.co.uk