A DJ accused of raping a young clubber after finishing work has walked free from court.

Andrew Thompson wept with relief after the jury found him not guilty after 30 minutes of deliberations.

Mr Thompson, known as 'DJ Zack', was accused of picking up the 21-year-old with compliments and sexual banter as she danced the night away.

It was claimed he purred at her from his microphone because she was wearing a leopard print skirt and kept telling her he wanted to have sex with her.

The girl then claimed he waited until the club was closed before luring her into an alley and raping her while her friends sat just yards away.

Newcastle Crown Court heard evidence from the girl who said she was raped at the back of the Planet Earth club in Newcastle city centre in the early hours of November 30 last year. The court heard she had been enjoying a night out with three friends and had drunk tequila slammers and cocktails before going into the club.

As she danced on a podium in front of the DJ stand she attracted the attention of Mr Thompson as he worked.

After flirting with him during the night the girl met Mr Thompson as he left the club and asked for a pen.

He then led her down an alley behind the club and the pair had sex in a doorway.

But after Mr Thompson left in a taxi the girl claimed she had been raped. The group went to the police and Mr Thompson was arrested shortly afterwards.

But in an interview he denied the allegations, claiming the girl had flirted with him in the club and had consented to sex with him.

He told the court that she was an enthusiastic lover and had never once told him to stop.

He said he believed she just felt guilty about having sex with him because she had just been engaged to her boyfriend.

The jury believed Mr Thompson's account and found him not guilty.

Married Mr Thompson, of Tynemouth Place, Tynemouth, left in tears and would not comment after the hearing