A TAXI driver accused of indecent assault told a court he could not remember his alleged victim.

Parvaz Akhtar, who denies assault and falsely imprisoning the woman in his cab, told a jury at Teesside Crown Court that he carried lots of female passengers during the course of his work.

Questioned by defence counsel Nigel Shepherd, he said he did not recognise the woman's voice when she earlier gave evidence behind screens in the witness box.

The prosecution alleges Mr Akhtar, 33, of Errol Street, Middlesbrough, made a series of lewd suggestions to the woman who he was taking home after a night out on April 20 last year

He is said to have engaged the central locking in his cab, effectively trapping the woman in the vehicle.

A registration number matching Mr Akhtar's taxi was given to police by the alleged victim, who also picked him out in an ID parade.

Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, has said that although the woman was not physically touched, the words used by Mr Akhtar in the context of the situation she was in amounted to indecent assault.

The jury is expected to deliver its verdict later today.