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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
National
Geoffrey Bennett

Court hears women's accounts of alleged sexual assaults at the hands of Yate man

Two women told a jury that a Yate man groped them.

One complainant said Martin Axford approached her, lifted up her top and started touching her chest.

She told Bristol Crown Court she froze during the assault, which ended when he thought someone was nearby.

Another complainant said Axford kept trying to feel her backside.

Axford, 51, of Milton Road, denies three charges of sexual assault.

Bristol Crown Court heard he claims a woman flashed her knickers at him, one of the youngsters offered herself to him and nothing happened regarding the third girl.

The woman complainant claimed: "He pulled the top of my dress down, exposing my bra.

"Then he came towards my face.

"It was just panic."

The second complainant, who was a teenager when she was allegedly groped, told the jury Axford had molested her in the way she reported to police.

She said, though, she had initially tried to put the matter behind her.

"He kept trying to feel me"

The jury watched a video interview the third complainant had with police, who was also a teenager when she was allegedly groped.

She said a chain had broken on her dress and Axford stepped in to help her.

But she told police: "He started to stroke my back and kept trying to feel my bum.

"He kept trying to feel me.

"He obviously heard someone coming 'round the corner.

"Then he stopped and let me go."

The case continues.

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