AN African asylum seeker accused of infecting four people with HIV through sex launched a tirade against women - including his mother - after being told he had the virus, a court was told.

Musician Feston Konzani made the outburst during a meeting in Middlesbrough when he and his girlfriend were both told they had the deadly disease.

The 28-year-old went on to blame his pregnant Italian lover, known as Miss G, for infecting him, Teesside Crown Court heard yesterday.

Dr Brendan McCarron, a consultant physician with South Tees Trust and a specialist in infectious diseases, told the jury: "He was quite angry. He said the Italian girl had given him the HIV virus.

"He expressed some anger against women in general, against his mother, against the Italian girl also. He blamed women for a lot of his problems."

Dr McCarron said the pair had to be separated during the meeting at Middlesbrough General Hospital on November 28, 200, when it was confirmed both were HIV positive.

Mr Konzani, of Albany Street, Middlesbrough is accused of infecting four women, including a 15-year-old Middlesbrough girl and a 26-year-old from Tyneside, between November 2000 and August 2003.

The specialist said he began having concerns after a patient recognised the 15-year-old at the hospital and said she had seen her at Mr Konzani's home.

Inquiries later revealed the musician had been a sexual partner of the teenager, though she had not previously told doctors about him. Dr McCarron said he was also treating Miss X, another victim in the case, at the time.

He said: "I contacted the public health department that potentially we had a problem. They then contacted public health lawyers." The specialist said it had not been him that had initially contacted the police but Miss X.

He added he had contacted the General Medical Council and attended a meeting with police on June 17 2003 when the investigation into Mr Konzani began to move forward.

The court has heard how Konzani, from Malawi, came to Britain in 1998 with the help of a British diplomat with whom he had an illegal gay relationship in his native Africa.

The trial continues.