A sexual predator who posed as a mini cab driver to carry out two sexual assaults has been jailed.

Disqualified driver Atila Ardic, 25, of Brownswood Road, Finsbury Park, fraudulently rented a car and drove it around Islington in the early hours of December 8, 2017, looking for drunk, vulnerable females to sexually assault.

Wood Green Crown Court heard he picked up his first victim in Upper Street, claiming he was her private hire driver.

The woman fell asleep in the back and when she woke up, she realised Ardic had driven to a secluded area in Waterloo, where he sexually assaulted her. She managed to fight him off and fled.

The next day he drove the same car around Stoke Newington, where he picked up another vulnerable woman who thought he was the driver she had booked online.

After she fell asleep in the rear passenger seat, Ardic pulled up on a secluded road in Islington to assault her. She also managed to kick him off and fled.

Ardic’s conviction follows an investigation by the Met’s taxi and private hire policing team, who discovered Ardic had used one of the victim’s bank cards. They built a case against him by linking data from his electronic devices, GPS from the car, CCTV including external bus footage and data from one of the victim’s mobiles.

Ardic pleaded guilty to sexual assault on July 22 at Wood Green Crown Court, and was sentenced to 30 months in prison on September 30.

PC Jonny Harris said: “Today’s sentencing reflects the seriousness of Ardic’s offending. There were a number of aggravating factors considered in this sentencing, despite Ardic’s guilty plea. The most prominent being the abuse of trust and the planning of these horrible assaults.

“This conviction would not have been possible without these young women coming forward to the police. Both showed great courage and a great deal of patience throughout a lengthy investigation.”

Ardic will be registered on the sex offenders register for five years on his release. He was also handed a sexual harm prevention order and is banned from applying to be or acting as a licensed private hire driver or taxi driver.