A BLACK policeman is suing a North-East force claiming he was publicly humiliated by fellow officers when a woman falsely accused him of rape.

The woman, who was a mentally ill drug abuser, told detectives she had been attacked by PC Steven Allen and another man, at her home, in November 1995.

PC Allen, who specialised in undercover work, was arrested by detectives from Cleveland Police at Millgate Police Station, in Leeds, just minutes before he was due to start his shift.

Yesterday, a High Court hearing heard claims that he was abused by Cleveland officers who ignored his alibi because he was black.

The court, sitting in Newcastle, was told that the ordeal had turned him from an industrious, conscientious and ambitious police officer, into a depressed and frightened man who had turned to drink.

PC Allen, who joined the Metropolitan Police Force in 1987, before transferring north in 1995 to join West Yorkshire Police, is now suing the Chief Constable of Cleveland Constabulary for unlawful arrest and false imprisonment.

He never worked for the Cleveland force,but was questioned by its officers because the alleged rape was said to have happened in Middlesbrough. The High Court heard how Mr Allen was arrested after Middlesbrough police were contacted by a woman, who called herself Elizabeth and said she was about to become a barrister, claiming she had been raped by a man called "Steve".

Despite protesting his innocence, PC Allen was publicly paraded through four police stations, and questioned persistently and aggressively, before being released in the early hours of the morning.

He said he was abused and made to feel inferior by reason of the fact that his skin was black.

The court heard how a "touch of a button" on the police computer would have shown that PC Allen had a cast-iron alibi because he was on duty when the attack was supposed to have taken place.

PC Allen's barrister Eric Elliott told the court: "This is an example of officers failing to carry out even the most fundamental checks."

PC Graham Scott, of Cleveland Police, told the court yesterday how the force contacted Elizabeth's brother, and a good friend, named Paula, to confirm what she had told them about her life.