Cabbie 'drugged and raped women'

John Worboys, 51, preyed on young women he picked up in London's West End, Croydon Crown Court was told. He is accused of using date rape drugs dissolved in champagne to "stupefy" his victims before attacking them in the back of the cab.

Prosecutor Johannah Cutts QC said Worboys attacked 14 women during an 18-month reign of terror until his arrest last February.

She said Worboys cruised the streets of central London late at night in his black cab looking for single women to offer discount lifts home to.

Miss Cutts said: "His primary intent had nothing to do with taking them home. His primary purpose was wholly sexual in nature. His intent was to ensure that they were completely at his mercy and then to sexually molest them."

Worboys used date rape drugs to render his victims powerless and to make them forgetful, the court was told.

The jury was told Worboys would tell passengers he had won a large amount of money either in the lottery or at a casino. Miss Cutts said the cab driver sometimes showed passengers a carrier bag full of cash to back up his story.

During the conversation Worboys would invite his victims to share a bottle of champagne and pour them a glass from the front of the cab, the court heard. Miss Cutts said although some passengers did not want to drink, they felt it would be rude to refuse. Some just pretended, she added.

Worboys, of Rotherhithe, south east London, denies 23 charges including rape, sexual assault and administering a substance with intent.