Man who went on a 'rape tour' of British universities is jailed

Tahir Nazir was found guilty of attempted rape, sexual assault and three counts of trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence

CCTV images of Tahir Nazir, 40, attempting to enter several student flats in New Lawrence House in Hulme, Manchester (Greater Manchester Police)

A man who went on a 7,000-mile tour of Britain's universities in search of vulnerable young women to sexually assault has been jailed for 12 years.

Tahir Nazir, 40, snuck into student accommodation in Scotland, England and Wales and attempted to target drunk undergraduates.

At Manchester Crown Court he was found guilty of attempted rape, sexual assault and three counts of trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.

The court heard how had driven on a tour of university towns through Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Oxford, Bristol and Cardiff.

"His campaign involved taking detailed photos of premises where students lived, in particular entrances and access rooms," Judge Martin Steiger QC said, the Manchester Evening News reports.

"And finally it involved his posing as a student for which purpose he had obtained a highly convincing fake student union ID card."

The prosecution said Nazir would take Viagra and cocaine and sleep in his car as he travelled across the UK.

Nazir was caught lying on top of a "very drunk" Cardiff student in September last year and fled the scene.

In November, he was caught on CCTV attempting to enter several student flats in New Lawrence House in Hulme, Manchester.

He managed to gain access to a flat inside the building but left when he was told the police had been called.

Nazir then managed to enter another flat in the building and snuck into the bedroom of a sleeping woman, where he undressed himself and attempted to rape her before she fought him off.

He was caught five days later when girls in a shared house in Fallowfield, Manchester, reported someone was trying the doors to their room.

DNA evidence matched him to the sexual assault in Cardiff.

He has been ordered to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

Detective Constable Matt Gregory of GMP's City of Manchester Division said: "Not only did Tahir Nazir commit these horrendous offences against his victims but he did it in one of the most intrusive ways possible by attacking them in their own home.

"Nobody should have to worry about being attacked when they are in the sanctity of their own home, they should feel safe and comfortable.

"I hope the sentence passed today will give his victims some sort of comfort knowing that Nazir is off the streets and will spend the next 12 years in prison where he won't be able to hurt anybody like this."