Shropshire New Year rape accused says woman made advances to him
A Shropshire man accused of raping a woman at a New Year's Eve house party told police it was she who had made advances to him, a court heard.
David Bird had stayed at the house in the town to look after the woman as she slept in a bedroom.
The 21-year-old, of The Trench, near Ellesmere, denies a charge of rape and is standing trial at Shrewsbury Crown Court.
Bird, giving evidence to the jury yesterday, said he had gone into the bedroom to speak to the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and that she had asked him to lie down with her.
He said he put a blanket over the woman before lying down by her side.
Bird told the court the pair kissed and that they had sex after the woman continued to make advances.
In her evidence the woman said that she had been asleep and had woken to find Bird on top of her and that she had tried to push him away.
The jury had previously been told that the woman had gone to bed intoxicated after celebrations to bring in the start of 2015.
The trial continues.
