A man has been jailed for 13 years for rape and attempted rape after DNA linked him to two attacks in Mill Hill in the mid-90s.

Russell Chandler, 41, a tube driver, of Watford, was sentenced today at Harrow Crown Court for the offences, which took place in May 1994.

On May 9, 1994, a 34-year-old woman was attacked as she walked through an underpass of the A41 at Watford Way in Mill Hill.

The victim was raped by a man who left DNA evidence at the scene.

Two days later, at Hartley Avenue, a 22-year-old woman was attacked by a man who attempted to rape her. Again the attacker left DNA evidence behind.

A scientific link between the cases was made in 1994, but no suspect was identified.

A cold case review of the investigation was conducted in 2005, but no new avenues of investigation were identified.

On June 9, 2015, Chandler was arrested for a separate offence.

When his DNA was taken, it was loaded onto the national database and 10 days later, his DNA was identified as a match for that found at the scenes of the 1994 attacks.

Chandler was charged on June 25, 2015. He initially claimed he had only sexually assaulted the two women, pleading guilty to two sexual assaults, but he was found guilty of rape and attempted rape following a trial.

He appeared at court today and was sentenced to 13 years for the rape and nine and a half  years for the attempted rape. Both sentences are to run concurrently.

He will also be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.