A teenage mum sobbed as she told a jury how she was raped in the grounds of the disused Rochford Hospital.

The girl claimed her brutal attacker was 21-year-old Barrie Hierons, of Doggetts Close, Rochford.

They met while she was on a pub crawl during a night out with other girls.

The mum, who has an 18-month-old son, alleged that Hierons began to walk her home when he suddenly grabbed her.

At the time they were taking a short cut through the hospital grounds after buying kebabs from a van.

She told the jury at Basildon Crown Court: "I don't know why I did not scream out. He would not let me go. I was trying to get away from him."

The tearful 18-year-old dabbed her eyes as she described how she had seen Hierons, nicknamed Buzz, in the Kings Head pub, Rochford.

A sister of the alleged victim said she was baby-sitting the girl's son when the woman arrived home in the early hours on July 4 last year.

The sister added: "She stood on my doorstep in a terrible state. She was hysterical, covered in grass and straw, and was dishevelled.

"I asked her what had happened and she said she had been raped. She just wanted to be sick. At first she did not want to tell the police about it. She was more concerned about our mother knowing what had happened to her.

"Mother turned up later and comforted my sister. I do not know if my sister had a boyfriend at the time. I never asked her about her love life."

A friend of the young mum said in evidence that Hierons chatted to them in the Kings Head, and jokingly took swigs of the girl's lager and smoked her cigarettes.

They decided to go home around closing time. Hierons went with the mum and the other girls went their separate ways.

The friend said: "I told Buzz to make sure he got her home all right. He replied: 'What do you mean by that?' I then said, 'Just make sure you get her home'."

Hierons pleads not guilty to rape. The trial continues.

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