A TAXI driver has been found guilty of raping a woman as she walked her dog in a park.

Jurors took just three hours to unanimously convict Stephen Ord, 37, of the early-morning attack on the 58-year-old woman at Calderstones Park.

He was also convicted of assaulting a 77-year-old woman as she walked to a coffee morning through Northway Park less than two weeks earlier.

The Liverpool Crown Court jury of eight women and four men found him guilty of assault by beating the pensioner on March 30 and committing that act intending to commit a sexual offence, as well as the rape on April 11.

Ord, of Acuba Road, Wavertree, showed no emotion as the verdicts were delivered.

But some of his supporters in the public gallery broke down.

Relatives of the rape victim, who had sat through the trial, also wiped away tears as Ord was convicted.

During a week of evidence, several jurors appeared visibly shocked when they heard of Ord's long-standing interest in violent rape films and websites.

Judge David Harris, QC, adjourned sentencing until November 5 for reports, but he warned Ord he was facing a very long time behind bars.