A FRIEND of a man who says he was raped as a child has told jurors of the impact the sexual assault had on the alleged victim.

The witness said his friend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been left ‘f***ed up’ by the two attacks he says took place when he was ten or 11.

He told the jury at Teesside Crown Court how in 2011 his friend started to open up about the abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of Christopher Todd several years earlier.

Paul Abrahams, prosecuting, asked the witness exactly what he had heard about his friend's alleged abuse when he was just a young boy.

He told the jurors how his friend broke down in tears at a party when he told him about the sexual abuse he endured.

He added: "You could tell that it was always in his mind, obviously, you are not going to forget about something like that but it was clear that it was always on his mind."

Under cross examination from defence barrister Christine Egerton, the witness accepted that he initially got the year wrong when he told police about what his friend had told him but said he was able to work it out more accurately after checking the dates he had missed Leeds Festival when the alleged victim first told his friends what had happened to him.

When asked how the victim said he felt following the alleged attack, the witness said: "He said 'it f***ed him up for life'."

Hope, of Grangeside, Darlington, has pleaded not guilty to eight charges including two of rape, sexual activity with a child and indecent assault.

The 31-year-old is expected to give evidence in his defence this morning.