A MAN has denied raping a woman in her own home.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claims Neil Crisp, 52, raped her in the bedroom of her Witham home on November 19, 2014.

Christopher Kerr, prosecuting at Chelmsford Crown Court, said: “They were having an amicable discussion.

“She stayed up watching TV. Her evidence is that the next thing she knew is that she is lying on her back in the bedroom and he was on top of her.

“She told him to stop, she went to push him off, he grabbed her arms and pinned her down on the bed.

“She said no but he went ahead against her consent.”

The jury was shown an interview with the victim at the Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Brentwood.

In it she said: “He went out and got food. I had less than two glasses of coffee vodka to drink and then I went to sleep on the sofa.

"He went to sleep in my bedroom.

“The next thing I know he was on top of me on the bed. I don’t know how I got there.

“I told him to stop and I went to push him off, that was when he grabbed my arms.

“I told him to get off and I was crying. He never said anything.

“He went into the bathroom after and I went into the kitchen, I lit a cigarette and told him I would be phoning the police.

“He said that he was going to call the police himself. He left and that was when I phoned the police."

Graham Brown, defending, said: “I suggest that what we were told in the interview is a lie.

“At about 11pm you went into the bedroom with him. You followed him.

“You were seeing someone at that time and you didn’t know how you would be able to explain that.

“Once you have said it is rape it’s difficult to withdraw.”

Crisp, of Lynfords Avenue, Wickford, denies rape.

The trial continues.