A BURY man forced a woman to drive him to his caravan before raping her, a court heard.

Connor Hamer, 27, is accused of three counts of rape which are alleged to have happened over a four day period in June last year.

On the opening day of a trial at Bolton Crown Court, Darren Preston, prosecuting, said Hamer, of Wash Lane Terrace, Bury, visited his alleged victim at her home in Lancashire on June 3.

An argument started and the woman had tried to escape by running to a neighbour's house but Hamer had caught up with her.

She later told police officers how Hamer, who has pleaded guilty to an assault charge, dragged her back into her home by her hair before punching her in the head, legs and ribs and slapping and spitting at her.

She said he then dragged her to her car and told her to drive him to Bury.

Mr Preston said: "She kept tapping on her brake, deliberately driving erratically, hoping that someone would think there was a drunk-driver on the road and call the police, but to no avail."

On arrival at Hamer's caravan, Mr Preston said that someone was painting it and the woman told him she had had been beaten up with Hamer heard to say he beat her up “for a f***ing reason”.

He told her to get in the caravan where he is alleged to have twice raped her that evening.

In an interview with police which was played to the jury, the woman described how, when they had returned to her house she had been for a bath, but when she got out she found him standing in her bedroom performing a sex act and telling her to join him.

"She did as she was told despite not wanting to," said Mr Preston. "Understandably, given what she had been through, the prosecution suggest that this was an entirely understandable reaction to the abuse she suffered at this defendant’s hands."

A friend of the woman contacted police after she told her what had happened and Hamer was arrested on June 5 and taken to Bury police station for interview.

Mr Preston said Hamer told officers the woman's injuries had been caused by her falling over as she ran away from him or as she struggled with him as he took her in a bear hug back to the house.

Hamer said he had been “nothing but civil with her” and “been honest with her and right with her"

The jury also heard a number of threatening texts sent by Hamer including one where he wrote “I can do what I want and there’s not a man to stop me” and others where he threatened to get trackers on her car.

Hamer denies three counts of rape, kidnap and making threats to kill.

The trial continues.