A SHOE fetishist says he felt like a "monster" when he realised the impact his high heel muggings had on his female victims.

Omar Abd-el-Gowad got a sexual thrill when he pounced on strangers in the street and ripped the shoes from their feet, it is claimed.

The 26-year-old crept up on a seventh victim, who cannot be named, in New Cross on November 9 last year as she returned home with a friend, prosecutor Toby Fitzgerald said on Tuesday.

Gowad told Inner London Crown Court he had convinced himself swiping high heels was a "minor" thing and he said he was in a "state of denial" about the crimes.

The mechanical engineer, who told police he hed been obsessed with womens' shoes since the age of 12, has admitted grabbing the shoes of eight victims in the 11-month robbery spree - but denies fondling the leg of one of his victims.

The court heard how his obsession began when he found a pair of shoes belonging to a woman guest in his father's home.

He repeatedly took them to his bedroom before returning them undetected.

Around 200 shoes have been found in his bedroom, some of which were reportedly stolen from parties and others bought on an internet auction site.

Among this collection were shoes ripped from womens' feet.

During a police interview Gowad admitted he could barely recall the women he mugged but he could vividly picture their shoes.

He told the court: "'It was only when I read the statements of my victims I felt like a monster.

"What I was reading was a description of someone I didn't recognise. I had convinced myself it was quite a minor thing I had been doing.

"I was in a state of denial.

"There is not a day goes by that I wished I had reached out and asked for help and not put my family and all the people I robbed in this position."

He added: "Every time I had a relationship I would find it almost impossible to maintain because of this fetish."

Gowad, of Stillness Road, Honor Oak Park, Lewisham, admits eight counts of robbery between December 9, 2005 and November 11, last year.

He denies one count of sexual assault on November 9 last year.

The trial continues.