A serial sex predator who targeted lone women as they travelled through London has been jailed for 15 years.
Thomas Biggs, 22, struck at least five times in increasing violent attacks before he was caught by police.
His spree began in April last year when he sexually assaulted a jogger a 31-year-old jogger as she ran along a towpath of the Grand Union Canal.
He sped past her on a motorbike before lying in wait, dragging her to the floor and covering her mouth when she tried to scream.
The following month he struck again, sexually assaulting a 37-year-old woman on a canal towpath in Iver, Buckinghamshire.
A 33-year-old woman was also attacked in West Drayton when Biggs jumped out from behind a hedge, managing to fight him off as she was dragged towards an alleyway.
In October he attacked another 33-year-old woman as she got off a bus, assaulting her on the ground and cycling off with her handbag.
He struck for the last time the very next day, throwing a woman to the floor and causing her to smash her head on the concrete in Uxbridge before running off with her bag.
On Friday at Isleworth Crown Court, Biggs, Wraysbury Drive, West Drayton, was jailed for 15 years after admitting a string of offences.
Detective Sergeant Daniel Langton, of the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command who led the investigation, said: "Biggs is a predatory offender who attacked lone women in public, and the attacks seemed to escalate in terms of the violence used.
"These attacks were degrading and terrifying for the victims, who have been incredibly brave in providing us with accounts of what happened to them and descriptions of the suspect.
"We believe that there may potentially be other women that Biggs has attacked, and we would urge anyone who has suffered an attack of this nature and not reported it to police to come forward and speak to officers."
Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of Biggs should call officers on 020 8733 5033, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
