A mother who cut herself after she was allegedly raped told a court she felt a responsibility to report the alleged attack.

Brian Witty, 42, of Twickenham Road, Teddington, is accused of raping the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, on New Year’s Eve in 1997.

Kingston Crown Court heard the woman, who was 19 years old at the time of the alleged attack, had been out celebrating in central London when she was introduced to Mr Witty by a mutual friend.

She told the court she accepted Mr Witty’s offer to stay at his flat because she did not have enough money for a taxi, her friend was going home with someone else and she felt it would be safer than walking home alone.

The alleged victim said: "I said to him that I was wanting to be safe. I was worried about walking through Elephant and Castle at night and that I wasn’t going back to have sex with him. I made that clear.

"He said absolutely not this is to help you out and make sure you are safe.

"He was very polite. He was very reassuring. I trusted him. I thought he was a gentleman. That’s how he came across.

"I said multiple times that I wasn’t going back with the intention of sleeping with him. I was going back for my own safety."

The court heard at Mr Witty’s Kensington flat the pair kissed but the woman pulled away and reiterated that she did not want to sleep with him before Witty pushed her face down on his bed and raped her.

She told the court she felt violated and scared and afterwards said to him that she hadn’t wanted to sleep with him, to which she said he replied "well you shouldn’t have come home with me then."

The woman said after the incident she was referred to a physiatrist because she started to self harm by cutting herself and her doctor was worried about her safety and suicide risk.

She also told the court she cut her hair short in an attempt to take back control in her life and only felt able to report the incident last year after seeing press reports of Mr Witty’s conviction for other rapes.

She said: "I am a lot stronger now than I was at the time.

"The overriding thing is I have a daughter. I feel I have a responsibility to keep my daughter and other people’s daughters safe from that ever happening to her.

"I felt so stupid for trusting him and thinking it would be safer to go with him than to walk through Elephant and Castle on my own.

"I was very scared. I wasn’t dealing with it well. I just couldn’t face going through it all over again with the police.

"I didn’t feel anyone would believe me. He was an army captain. I didn’t feel I had any chance."

Witty’s defence, Mark Milliken-Smith, claimed the sex was consensual.

He said: "The reality is there was some chemistry that developed on that walk back. That’s why when you got back to the flat there was that mutual kiss I suggest.

"I suggest at no stage you said no or tell him to stop and nor did you cry at the time."

Witty denies three counts of rape. The trial, which started on Monday, June 3, is expected to last three weeks.