A MAN has been found guilty of going on a robbery spree armed with a machete and raping a woman.

Donovan Smith, of Hungerdown in Chingford, targeted ten lone women and one man on buses and threatened them with a 23-inch blade.

He also threatened to kill a 38-year-old mother before raping her in the car park of Frankie and Benny’s restaurant in New Road, Chingford, as she made her way to work on March 10 this year.

Snaresbrook Crown Court heard how the victim pleaded with Smith not to hurt her as she needed to care for her children.

The robberies took place in Chingford and parts of Hackney in March and May this year and the victims included a 45-year-old Polish nun.

Smith’s crimes followed a standard pattern which involved him targeting young women in their late teens and 20s, and engaging them in brief conversations before forcing them to hand over their valuables.

He told some of his victims that they were lucky he was not a rapist, and said he didn’t rape “little girls, only big women”.

The 43-year-old chef was found in possession of a blood-stanied machete when he was arrested in May, but he denied all charges and accused the police of planting the blade on him.

He was convicted of 23 offence, including the burglary of a house in the Avenue, Chingford.

He is due to sentenced on November 30.