THE jury in the trial of an acclaimed headteacher accused of having sex with two underage boys in the 1980s has been sent out to consider verdicts.

Anne Lakey, 55, from Stanley, County Durham, denies 13 counts of indecent assault over a three year period on a boy aged 13 or 14, and another boy aged 15.

The younger complainant told Teesside Crown Court that the defendant, then a history and RE teacher married to Eamonn Toland, had sex with him after allowing him to watch her bathe at the marital home.

The older complainant said she took his virginity in a tent after she encouraged him to creep over in the middle of the night.

Both claim they had continued, separate, sexual relations with her.

Mrs Lakey, who the jury heard is suspended from her role as chief executive of two schools, is a national leader in education and has been praised for her leadership, denied ever having underage sex.

She did have sex with the older boy when he was 18, she told the jury.

She told them she was "devastated" when the younger complainant sent her school an accusing email in 2012 which triggered her suspension and the police investigation.

Judge Howard Crowson told the jury: "There is no pressure on time as to how long those deliberations take."