A FATHER says the woman who accuses him of raping her was 'stalking' him before they had sex, harassed his family and carried out a 'vendetta'.

Richard Hirschfield is accused of raping the woman on a fire escape of what was the Midland Shire Farmers Building in The Butts in Worcester in July, 1998. The 43-year-old denies forcing himself on the then 16-year-old after drinks at the Paul Pry pub but accepts they had consensual sex.

His trial continued at Worcester Crown Court yesterday where it was revealed the defendant attended a voluntary interview with West Mercia Police on March 1, 2018 and again on March 4 last year.

He told officers he been going through 'a matrimonial dispute at the time', that the complainant had been giving him the eye, 'sort of stalking me in a way'. He added "There was some sort of attraction from the girl towards me."

He said the two had consensual sex in a doorway before he had a kebab and returned home to where he then lived in Coventry Avenue, St John's.

The defendant said it was the Wednesday or Thursday of the following week that the complainant confronted him in a cafe in the Crowngate shopping centre when he was with his then wife and a child, shouting at him 'I didn't know you were married!' and accusing him of forcing himself on her.

The defendant told officers that he and his now ex-wife went to report the complainant to police in Deansway. This was also the time the complainant reported the alleged rape to police for the first time although the court heard that no police records survived because notebooks had since been destroyed.

She was video interviewed by police about the allegation February 16, 2018.

In 2016 he said he and his wife received messages over Facebook Messenger from the complainant. He said one of the messages said: "I had to move out of Worcester because of you, you horrible person."

Hirschfield also said she accused him of being a paedophile, an allegation for which police confirmed there was no evidence and which the defendant said 'makes me feel sick'.

He also said the woman shared pictures of his family on social media. He denied that he had ever told her he was a fireman.

The trial continues.