A man who raped a woman with learning difficulties was today sentenced to five years in prison.

Anura Paranamana, 49, asked his 43-year-old victim to have sex with him and when she refused, he raped her, Kingston Crown Court heard.

The woman, from Chiswick, did not report the rape because Paranamana told her not to tell anyone - but after the incident, on October 22, 2008, her carer noticed she was not eating properly and was unusually moody.

When she questioned the victim she confided she had been raped.

Paranamana was arrested at his home in Wembley but, in a police interview, he denied carrying out the attack and claimed someone must have forced the victim to make a false allegation.

He was bailed by police but soon after forensically-obtained DNA from the victim's clothes showed sexual intercourse had taken place with Paranamana.

He was re-arrested but told police he had no comment.

Police charged Paranamana with rape and he was remanded in custody for trial. On the first day of the trial, Paranamana changed his plea to guilty.

After today's hearing, Detective Constable Sylvia Diggins said: "I am extremely pleased with today's sentence, despite the overwhelming forensic evidence against him, Anura Paranamana denied his involvement in this rape right up until the start of his trial when he changed his plea.

"My praise goes to the victim of his crime who was determined to testify against him and I hope that she can now move on from this experience, I would also like to thank her carer who provided huge support throughout this process.

"I also hope this conviction reassures the public that the MPS do investigate rape allegations thoroughly and encourage anyone who has been a victim of this crime to report it to police."