A MAN accused of rape said he had only approached his alleged victim to strike up a conversation with her, and it later led to them having sex.

But the jury at Swindon Crown Court heard yesterday that Samir Hassan could not remember if he had actually had intercourse with the 14-year-old.

Hassan, 27, Wilder Court, Wilder Street, Bristol, denies the charge of raping a girl under the age of 16 in Gorse Hill in July 2002.

On day three of the trial the court heard the statement Hassan made after being arrested in Bristol in November 2006.

Prosecution counsel Susan Evans read out Hassan's interview with Det Con Gareth Kitchener of Swindon police.

Hassan said he had been walking from his home at Jim Masters Court on July 11 to buy some food in Manchester Road, Swindon.

He had seen the girl by the Co-op in Cricklade Road and they had started a conversation, which ended up with them going to a park on Whitehouse Road.

His statement said: "I can confirm to you that I have never raped a woman.

"But it's possible that I had a relationship at that time.

"We went together, we walked around then went to a park.

"We sat down, had some more conversation, then something happened with us and we then left the park."

Hassan was pressed for more details about the encounter, and quizzed about how old he thought the girl was.

"She was around, I think, 19 or 20. But she might have been 18," he said.

Asked how he was sure the 14-year-old was older, he replied: "I could tell from her face, she looked that old to me."

Hassan said that during their walk around the roads the girl had suggested going into the park.

He took that to mean that they were going there for sexual contact.

He said: "What started the whole thing was the suggestion to go to the park."

He added later: "I thought that something was going to happen and that we had come to an understanding, me and the girl."

Hassan initially denied he had had intercourse with the girl, until a DNA test was shown proving otherwise.

Asked why he had lied, he said: "The reason is because the incident was a long time ago."

The trial continues.