An Oxford man continued to shout his innocence yesterday as he was led away to start a five year prison sentence for rape.

Imran Khan, of Abingdon Road, appeared at Oxford Crown Court after he was convicted of raping the woman in Witney on June 11 last year.

He attacked the woman in her own house at 3.45am but made a heated outburst as Judge Anthony King sentenced him to five years.

As he was led away the 36-year-old shouted: "You are a liar. The truth will come out."

Judge King had told Khan: "Having entered the premises of this lady, you proceeded to have intercourse with her.

"Despite her protestations, asking you to stop, you paid not one jot of attention to what she was saying and just carried on.

"You have at no stage shown remorse or faced up to what you have done."

Before sentencing, the judge told Rachel Drake, prosecuting, there was no need for her to fully outline the case because he had presided over the trial.

She said: "The defendant was waiting for her on a Saturday night.

"He was waiting for her at the top of the stairs.

"It is not difficult to imagine the consequences of such an incident and the impact upon her."

She added that the defendant did have previous convictions but not of a related nature.

Peter Wilcock, defending, urged the judge not to impose an indeterminate sentence, saying Khan had no previous convictions for violence, or for offences of a sexual nature.

He added that Khan and his family planned to move away from the Oxford area following his release from prison.

"This is his first experience of custody and unsurprisingly it has not been an easy experience," Mr Wilcock said.

"This defendant is someone who has inspired great loyalty and fondness from other people and I have handed in a handful of character references, all expressing their surprise."

At this point, Judge King told Mr Wilcock that he had received a substantial number of letters, some addressing him in "highly inappropriate terms" before a previous hearing, and Mr Wilcock apologised for any offence this might have caused.

Urging the judge to impose the minimum sentence he felt appropriate, Mr Wilcock added: "The defendant is not going to be the only person who suffers - his family will suffer as a result.

"He now lives with his mother and offers her a degree of financial support."

Friends and relatives of both the victim and the defendant attended the sentencing.