A FORMER nursery worker has denied sexually abusing a young boy, which a barrister suggested led to the child acting inappropriately more than two years later.

Another former worker at the nursery, Dawn Reed, also denied abusing a little girl.

Ms Reed was giving evidence at the High Court, undergoing cross-examination by Gordon Bishop, for Newcastle City Council and four authors of a report called Abuse in Early Years.

Ms Reed, 31, and another former worker at Newcastle's Sheildfield Nursery, Christopher Lillie, 37, have taken libel action against the council, the authors and Newcastle Chronicle and Journal Limited.

In the 1998 report, the authors concluded the two workers had sexually, physically and emotionally abused many young children in their care.

Four years earlier, the pair had been acquitted of indecently assaulting children from the nursery.

Mr Bishop referred Ms Reed to a statement by the father of one of the nursery pupils who began to display sexualised behaviour two years after being looked after by the pair.

Ms Reed denied that that behaviour occurred as a result of the boy's experiences with her and Mr Lillie.

The barrister also referred Ms Reed to the statement of a mother who said her daughter became frightened in lifts some time after being in the care of the two workers.

"I suggest she was scared in lifts because you and Mr Lillie had taken her in lifts to various places, flats, to events which were unpleasant. She went there to be abused," Mr Bishop said. Ms Reed denied the suggestion.

The hearing continues.