A man who is accused of grooming a boy he met in an Internet gay teen chatroom told a court yesterday that he had lots of young friends.

Michael Britton, 51, who bought the youngster a £2,500 motor scooter, Champagne and cake for his 16th birthday, said that he was very generous, but that sometimes people took advantage of him

Mr Britton, a petrol pump attendant, said that the Darlington boy was supposed to repay the scooter loan at £10 to £15 a week, but he did not and they fell out.

Mr Britton wrote a sexually explicit letter to his own sister telling her that they were lovers, Teesside Crown Court heard.

They met after Mr Britton posted a notice on the Internet in January last year and the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, contacted him.

Mr Britton admitted he was bisexual with two teenage daughters, but claimed that he was trying to "cool" the relationship with the boy.

Ann Richardson, prosecuting, told the jury that Mr Britton was grooming the boy with late night Internet exchanges and the scooter gift for his 16th birthday.

Mr Britton, of Morecambe Close, Bewbrush, Crawley, Sussex, denies rape, two indecent assaults, and two offences of taking indecent photo-graphs of a child in May and June last year.

The case continues.