A man who raped a woman at knifepoint in her home has been jailed for nine years.

David Hepburn, 50, of Sutton, threatened to kill the woman at her house in Epsom before slicing her leg with a knife and sexually assaulting her.

He raped the victim twice and warned he would kill her if she did not comply.

During a five-day trial at Guilford Crown Court, Hepburn claimed his victim had tried to blackmail him.

But a jury took just an hour of deliberations to return unanimous guilty verdicts on two charges of rape, two count of sexual assault, assault causing actual bodily harm and threats to kill.

Hepburn, of no fixed address, was jailed on Thursday.

Detective Constable Marlon Nolan, of Surrey Police's sexual offences investigation team, said: "This was a long and protracted investigation which required immense bravery from the victim to even come forward and report what had happened to her.

"This was an extremely serious incident and the sentence handed out today reflects that, as well as demonstrating Surrey Police's commitment to carrying out a thorough investigation and ensuring that offenders are brought to justice.”