This is the moment a rapist van driver is cuffed by the Kent cops before his appearance at Woolwich Crown Court yesterday saw him jailed for eight years.

Andrew Mills, 61, tricked his victim, name not disclosed, into accepting a lift home after noticing her in distress after the theft of her phone in Gravesend town centre at around 12.30am on 6th August 2019.

However, instead of taking the woman to her home, the van driver subjected her to a prolonged rape ordeal in his vehicle.

Mills was arrested after the victim managed to convince her attacker to let her go and then used her concealer to jot down his vehicle’s licence plate details.

As a result, Kent cops were able to quickly track Mills down and arrest him the following morning.

During the trial at Woolwich Crown Court, Mills denied two counts of rape and three other sexual offences, but was found guilty of each.

He was sentenced to eight years behind bars at the same court on 14th July.

Detective Inspector Ross Gurden said: “Mills has shown himself to be an opportunistic predator who poses an extreme danger to women.

“It would have been abundantly clear to him that the victim was distressed and vulnerable, and he exploited this in the worst and most deceitful way imaginable.

“Despite being put through a traumatic ordeal, the victim showed exceptional courage in managing to get out of the van and had the commendable presence of mind in quickly using her concealer to write down his registration number.

“I am pleased that we have now secured justice for her. While nothing is going to undo the harm Mills has caused, I sincerely hope that she can take a degree of reassurance from the result of this case.”