A WOMAN was raped when she went on a blind date with a man she met over the Internet, a court was told yesterday.

The mother-of-three, in her 40s, told police that she travelled to Stockton, Teesside, to meet 26-year-old Kenneth Huskinson.

She bought four cans of lager and shared them with him at his flat.

Teesside Crown Court was told that he gave her a cup of tea, which she said tasted horrible, and he also gave her a cigarette.

About an hour later she felt drowsy and he invited her to lie down.

David Brooke, prosecuting, said: "She woke up the following day, a long time later, in his bedroom and not realising how she had got in there.

"Her top had been pulled up over her bra and her jeans were pulled way down her body."

She realised that £38 and credit cards had been stolen from her bag and there was no sign of Mr Huskinson, so she went to the police station.

The court heard the woman told police about the theft, but not about the possible sexual assault. She also said that she had known him for 11 months instead of three weeks.

She returned home and spoke to a friend, and then went to her local police station where she gave a full account, said Mr Brooke.

She was examined by a police surgeon, and DNA tests proved a match with Mr Huskinson. A blood test for a date rape drug proved negative, but there were traces of cannabis.

Mr Huskinson was arrested ten days after her visit and he said that she was drunk when she arrived. He said they had shared cannabis joints and then had consensual sex a number of times.

He admitted stealing her phone.

Mr Huskinson, of Russell Street, Stockton, pleaded not guilty to rape on July 1 last year.

The case continues.