A 49-year-old man from the North-East accused of carrying out a series of rapes in the South-East asked a ten-year-old girl to pretend they were lovers during a five-hour ordeal in the back of his car, a court heard.

Antoni Imiela forced the girl into his car at knifepoint as she was walking to a friend's house in Birmingham, Maidstone Crown Court was told.

The attack is alleged to have happened two days after Mr Imiela had given a DNA sample to officers at his home in Appledore, near Ashford, Kent, as they investigated other sex attacks.

Railway worker Mr Imiela, originally from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, denies nine counts of rape against the three girls under 16 and five women, between November 2001 and October 2002. One women was allegedly raped twice.

He also denies the kidnap, indecent assault and attempted rape of the ten-year-old on November 21, 2002.

Mark Dennis, prosecuting, said the Birmingham attack occurred in "familiar territory", close to a residential area but with open spaces also nearby.

"Exactly the same hunting ground," he alleged.

He said the girl was bundled into a car at knifepoint before being repeatedly sexually abused.

During the attack, the girl said her attacker had "almost a dual personality", sometimes being nice to her and at other times using bad language and threats of violence.

Mr Dennis said: "He insisted she should pretend they were lovers and show she was enjoying it."

The girl gave police a description of the car consistent with the Citroen driven by Mr Imiela, as well as picking him out in video identification.

The case continues.