A paramedic who pretended to be gay to gain the trust of a woman and rape her has been jailed for 12 years today.

Predatory Christopher Bridger, 25, was found guilty of rape at Guildford Crown Court on Wednesday, July 30. He was found not guilty of an offence of assault by penetration.

The court heard how in September 2008, while Bridger was learning to be a paramedic at St George’s University Hospital, Tooting, he befriended his first victim, also studying there.

After a night out he started cuddling and kissing her. He took her clothes off and raped her. She was so traumatised by the experience she felt unable to report it when it happened.

In total, Bridger was found guilty of five sexual assaults on three female victims across Surrey and London following a 13-day trial.

Four of the charges related to offences that took place in Addlestone, Walton and Epsom over an 18-month period.

Bridger was found guilty of sexually assaulting two of his co-workers in 2011 and 2012 while he was working with the South East Coast Ambulance NHS Service.

Bridger will also serve three years on licence after his release.

Detective Constable Claire Hastings, of the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, said: "Bridger is a predator and a confidence trickster who abused the trust these women had in him.

"He purported to be their friend and deceitfully set out to gain their trust by lulling them into a false sense of security by claiming to be gay. Bridger took advantage of these women when they were at their most vulnerable.

"I hope the sentence today will give anyone who may have been a victim of a sexual assault the confidence to contact us or one of the many organisations that assist victims to ensure that they are provided with the support that they require."