A WOMAN who says she was raped as a little girl told a court she broke her silence after two decades because she could not keep it to herself anymore.

The woman says she was sexually abused and raped by Mark Stanford when she was aged about seven and nine years old.

She told the trial at Teesside Crown Court yesterday that she had self-harmed and suffered flashbacks since the incidents.

Mr Stanford, 32, of Overden Way, Halifax, was a teenager at the time of the alleged assaults which occurred in the Darlington and South Durham areas. He denies three charges of indecent assault and two of rape.

The alleged victim told the court that on two occasions, in the late 1980s, Stanford put his hand inside her underwear and touched her. After the second incident he went on to rape her. She said in the early 1990s Stanford had again indecently assaulted her, before raping her.

Sophie Drake, defending, said details the woman described to the court had not been included in a police statement.

The alleged victim denied making the details up.

The trial continues.