A RAPIST who had been on the run since May after failing to appear for the final day of his trial has been jailed.

Nasser Iqbal, aged 21, of Russell Street, Bolton, was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on Friday, May 23, to six-and-a-half years in prison for rape, despite not attending court.

Iqbal was on bail during the five-day trial. However, he failed to appear for the final day and went on the run.

He was arrested at Manchester Airport on Friday, October 17, and has now appeared at Bolton Crown Court. He was also sentenced to an additional two months in prison for failing to answer his bail. Iqbal was convicted of raping a 20-year-old woman in August, 2006, in a secluded car park in Slater Street, Bolton.

Iqbal, who worked in Liverpool, was linked to the rape by his DNA.

He was said to be out of the country at the time he was sentenced.