A RAPIST who preyed on a widow in her Little Lever home after she passed out has been jailed.

Fraser Langhorn was found guilty of three counts of rape after being tried at Liverpool Crown Court.

Langhorn had met his victim, who was known to him, at a local pub for a pre-arranged drink on August 25, 2013.

The victim, who was widowed, then invited him back to her home in Little Lever.

There they were drinking and talking together, before the middle-aged woman became unwell and passed out.

She woke to find Langhorn, aged 42, behind her on the sofa taking her clothes off.

He then raped her three times while she was unable to move, with the attacks taking place during the evening of August 25 and the next morning.

Langhorn, of Third Avenue, Little Lever, was yesterday jailed for eight years and six months.

Det Insp Paul Copplestone, from the police's serious sexual offences unit, said: "This was a traumatic experience for the victim and I would like to commend her bravery in coming forward and supporting a prosecution.

"I understand that the sentence won't change what happened to the woman, but I hope will go some way to giving her victim some closure."