A young man has been cleared of raping a teenage mum in the grounds of the old Rochford Hospital.

Barrie Hierons, 21, was unanimously found not guilty by a jury of ten women and two men at Basildon Crown Court.

The jury took less than an hour to reach its verdict, which was greeted with cheers by Hierons' relatives and friends.

He claimed the 18-year-old mum began kissing him in the hospital grounds before leading him into bushes.

Hierons, of Doggetts Close, Rochford, said she was happy about having sex but later moaned about it and struck him in the face with a bunch of keys.

It was alleged the couple had had sex on previous occasions and met by chance while drinking at the Kings Head pub, Rochford.

He joked with her by sipping her drink and smoking her cigarettes. At closing time she left with Hierons and asked him to walk her home rather than go off with her friends.

On the way they bought kebabs and Hierons sat on steps in the hospital.

He said the mother, who has an 18-month-old son, sat on his lap and they began petting.

Before their romp in the bushes she lost her kebab and Hierons tried to find it by using his cigarette lighter, but failed.

They then had sex which the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said was rape. But Hierons insisted they indulged in sex after she agreed to it and made all the running.

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