Two men who raped a woman in a Carshalton alleyway during broad daylight have been jailed.

Radian Cojocaru, 32, and Gabriel Bejinariu, 20, both of no fixed abode, were both convicted of the attack and sentenced to a combined total of more than 30 years in prison.

Despite pleading not guilty to rape, Bejinariu was convicted following a trial at Croydon Crown Court last month.

He was then sentenced to 12 years for aiding and abetting rape, and five years for rape, with both set to run consecutively.

The 20-year-old was also sentenced to four years for attempted rape, which will run concurrently.

Cojocaru, meanwhile, was jailed for 12 years for rape, and two years on licence, after admitting to rape and aiding and abetting rape.

The rapists met at Victoria Coach Station on October 13 last year, the court heard, before travelling to Carshalton the following day.

It was at around 3pm on October 14 that they attacked a 53-year-old woman as she approached an alleyway in Shorts Road.

A member of the public, who saw what was happening, then challenged the two men and ran after them.

Cojocaru was held on the car port of a roof of a nearby house before police officers arrived and arrested him.

Bejinariu was arrested a week later after he was identified on CCTV footage from the coach station.

Detective Inspector Keith Ward, of the Met’s child abuse and sexual offences unit (CASO), said: “This was a shocking assault by two strangers on a lone woman in broad daylight. The courage of a member of the public enabled us to arrest one man and I would like to thank him for his brave actions.

“The victim has also shown considerable courage to give evidence during Bejinariu’s trial. I’m glad that the prison sentences given to these two men means they will be off the streets of London for a considerable period of time.

“Stranger rapes such as this one understandably cause a considerable amount of fear in communities but, thankfully, they are rare. Thanks to the actions by the member of the public and a swift investigation we were able to quickly apprehend and prosecute the two men responsible for this offence.”