A REVELLER arrested for being drunk was charged with a rape committed seven years earlier, a court heard.

Police say that DNA taken from Mark Wilkinson linked him with the vicious sex attack - although the 27-year-old denies rape.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how Wilkinson, an electrical salesman, had been drinking in South Shields in December 2001 when he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

But a saliva swab taken from him was checked against a national database and matched DNA from the rape of a 19-year-old university student in Sunderland on New Year's Eve in 1995.

She was grabbed from behind as she walked home, dragged into an alleyway and was subjected to a terrifying rape.

Robin Paton, prosecuting, told the court: "At the time, police did not find anyone to pursue but they did not forget about it. They had samples in the hope that one day they may be able to get a match.

"In December 2001, the defendant was arrested for being drunk and disorderly. It did not amount to very much but it had the consequence that when a DNA database was searched again, there was a hit."

His victim began to rebuild her life, completed her university studies and became a teacher.

Yesterday, seven years after the attack, she relived her horror when she told a jury about her ordeal.

She said: "I just remember being grabbed from behind. Before I knew it, I was being pushed and shoved and bundled into the alleyway.

"I was pushed against the wall and I remember I hit my head. I was absolutely terrified.

"I tried to push him away. I tried my hardest to get him away but he was stronger and I couldn't."

Wilkinson, of Roker Baths Road, Sunderland, who was 20 at the time of the alleged attack, denies rape and the trial continues