A WHITCHURCH man has been jailed for more than five years for rape.

Andrew Paige, 47, was sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court to five years and four months by Recorder Justin Taylor for two counts of rape and one count of theft in an incident that took place in March this year.

Recorder Taylor heard that during the attack, Paige was repeatedly told ‘no’ by his victim but he continued to ignore her and also carried out multiple rapes.

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The victim later reported the ordeal to West Mercia Police officers who arrested Paige.

The defendant was due to stand trial in August this year for the offences but entered a guilty plea on the first morning of the trial, to which he received 10 per cent credit.

He had previously pleaded guilty to theft during the same incident and was given a quarter off his sentence.

Simon Parry, prosecuting, read out an impact statement to the court on behalf of the victim where she said that she had been "left feeling dirty" and that "my anxiety had gone through the roof".

The victim added: “I feel a lump in my throat and it's horrible. I’m terrified and I’m in constant fear."

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Recorder Taylor was also told that Paige had one relevant previous conviction of indecent assault which he treated as an aggravating factor.

Defending Paige, Kevin Jones said there was "only one attack" but agreed with the prosecution’s view that there were multiple rapes.

He added that his client had shown remorse.

Recorder Taylor sentenced Paige to six years for both offences, to be served concurrently which was reduced to five years and four months.

He also handed out a six-month sentence for theft, which would also be served concurrently, telling the defendant he would serve two-thirds of the jail term.