Michael Gold has been jailed for 24 years for raping an 88-year-old woman Pic: Met Police

A 26-year-old man who repeatedly raped an 88-year-old woman after breaking in to her house in Lewisham has been jailed for 24 years.

Michael Gold, of Bromley, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of rape at Croydon Crown Court.

The victim had gone to bed as usual in her home in the Grove Park area of Lewisham on June 18.

She awoke in the early hours the following day to see Gold climbing in through her bedroom window.

She thought the intruder was breaking in to rob her so she offered her pension, but Gold had replied saying he was after “her”.

Gold then brutally raped her three times and left her in “tremendous” pain.

The victim had been unable to contact the police straight after the incident and waited for an hour before calling 999 at about 4.45am.

London Ambulance Service and the police both attended and she was taken to Kings College Hospital with heavy bruising across her body.

Officers found a pair of boxer shorts on the floor in the victim’s home and fingerprints by her bedroom window.

House-to-house enquiries in the local area quickly identified Gold as the potential suspect and he was arrested at his home the following day.

His DNA was later found to match the samples taken from the victim and his fingerprints matched the ones taken from her bedroom window.

Gold was charged with three accounts of rape and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Detective Sergeant Darren Nayler, from the Metropolitan Police’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, said: “The actions of Gold that day are truly shocking.

“He brutally and repeatedly raped a vulnerable elderly lady who believed she was safe in the home where she had lived for more than 20 years.

“As a result of the horrific attack the victim has been unable to return home, suffers on-going nightmares and requires constant care.”