A town centre predator who trailed a vulnerable teenager around in the dead of night before raping her in a deserted car park has been jailed for 16 years.

John Fernandes followed the 18-year-old up Regent Street and along Commercial Road before taking her to the Granville Street car park and forcing himself on her.

And just 24 hours earlier the 39-year-old prowler, who is married, was seen following another woman for almost half an hour after watching her stagger from a club drunk.

On that occasion his 25-year-old potential victim had the wherewithal to tell him to leave her alone, and managed to escape his clutches after flagging down a passing car.

But the following night, in what the court heard was a ‘chillingly similar’ pursuit, the younger victim failed to escape his clutches.

Jailing him Judge Tim Mousley QC said “To you she was a young woman who was alone, vulnerable, and because of that and easy target.

“It may well be that not all of her current problems of physical and mental health can be attributed to you.

“I am satisfied the effect of what you did, on her, was immense and the impact will be with her for ever. As a minimum your raping her exacerbated her previous difficulties.

“I am satisfied there is a significant risk to young women of you causing serious harm by the commission of other specified offences.

“There is clear evidence on two other occasions you have shown yourself to be sexually predatory.

“There is a clear pattern of behaviour on your part which involved the deliberate targeting of vulnerable young women.”

And he also told him he would be on licence for an extra four years and would not be allowed to apply for parole until he had served two thirds of the 16 year jail term.

He also imposed a sexual harm prevention order restricting his liberty when he is released and told him he must register as a sex offender for life.

Earlier Michael Phillips, defending, told the court his client still contested the evidence of the victim and branded her a liar.

He said “He accepts he was someone morally very much out of order during that two day period, though he contests the conviction. He has never contested the morality of his actions in relation to his wife.”

And he added “In our submission he didn’t significantly target a vulnerable person. He was in the town centre looking for a drunk woman.”

He said his client’s wife, who does not live in this country, is standing by him and he also has sick relatives back home in India.

Fern Russell, prosecuting, told the court “This was a premeditated and planned attack.”

She said that the victim, who has a number of health problems, had bee in an induced coma following a seizure thought to be linked with her ordeal.

And she had also repeatedly self harmed, though was faring better after the verdict of the jury.

In a victim personal statement the girl told how she had made attempts on her life since the attack.

She said she set herself on fire because she had been washing herself in bleach, because she felt so dirty, and it had not been helping.

The victim wrote ‘Though I still suffer from nightmares and flashbacks I feel safer that this person won’t be able to hurt me again and I can walk around my home town.’

And in an earlier statement she wrote ‘I still don't want to be alive: I would rather die than live with flashbacks and nightmares.’

Fernandes, of Drove Road, denied raping the girl shortly after midnight on Sunday May 3, 2015,but a jury took less than two hours to convict him.

During the trial they had been shown CCTV footage of him following the two women on consecutive nights.

And even after the rape had taken police and he had fled from the car park he was back outside late night pubs and clubs looking at other vulnerable young women.