A vulnerable woman who was raped by an “abhorrent” fake taxi driver who picked her up in Shoreditch, has warned others never to use unlicensed cabs following her ordeal.

Paul Michael Causer, of Barfleur Lane, Deptford, picked up his victim from Shoreditch in the early hours of the morning last August 3 as she was looking for transport home following a night out.

He drove her to a dead end road in Godstone, Surrey, where he stopped after pretending his vehicle had a problem.

The 39-year-old then forced himself on her and dumped her at the roadside.

He was sentenced last Thursday at the Old Bailey to 11 years in prison for the serious sexual assault.

The victim has now warned others about staying safe on a night out.

She said: “The horror of that night will affect me for the rest of my life.

“The past year has been a nightmare and I am now grateful it is all over but the message I would like to remind people is not to get into an unlicensed taxi.

“Despite being aware of the warnings, this was never something that I thought would happen to me.”

Investigating officer Det Sgt Adele Robertson of the sexual offences investigation team at Surrey Police hopes the sentence will give the victim closure and help her move on with her life.

She said: “Paul Causer targeted and abused a vulnerable woman and will rightly face time in prison for this abhorrent crime.

“Offences of this nature are not always reported to us, which is why we are keen to hear from anyone who has been attacked in similar circumstances to come forward.

“It takes a great deal of courage for victims to talk about what has happened, and they need to feel confident that if they report an offence we can help.”

Before the trial last month at which he was found guilty, Causer admitted three counts of attempted theft after he tried to withdraw £600 with the victim’s bank card on the way.

He received an eight month sentence for the attempted thefts, which run concurrently with the 11 year rape sentence.