A TEENAGE girl was raped by a man who grabbed her in the street and dragged her to a secluded spot in Morecambe, a jury was told.

It is alleged that Andrew Price produced a knife and threatened to kill the 15-year-old if she screamed or tried to escape, before having sex without her consent.

Following his arrest, Price denied any involvement but at a later stage he went on to admit having sex with the girl's consent and suggested he had felt too embarrassed to talk about it earlier.

Price, 21, of White Lund Road, Morecambe, is on trial at Preston Crown Court where he denies a charge of raping the girl on April 1 this year.

The girl had been to Morecambe with a friend before making her way to the friend's home. She left at around 9.30pm and stopped at a telephone box at the corner of Banbury Road to make a call, said Mr Richard Haworth, prosecuting.

She became aware of a man outside the kiosk, waiting to use the phone.

The Crown says this man was Price and it was the first time there was any proximity between the two strangers.

He asked her if he could use the telephone. The girl came out of the box and he went in and she started to make her way home.

Mr Haworth said that as the girl reached the corner into White Lund Road an arm came across her shoulders and covered her mouth, preventing her from screaming. It was the same man who had been at the phone box.

The girl was allegedly dragged across the road to a secluded spot, where, Mr Haworth claimed: "Price produced a knife. He held it to her throat and said if she screamed or tried to get away he would kill her."

The girl was manhandled to the ground where Price is said to have knelt across her and pinned her down before raping her.

Police were informed and forensic evidence was gathered.

Price was arrested on April 15 but said he was not involved.

When the results of forensic testing returned, it linked him to the girl and the scene.

The jury were told that in a defence statement in September, Price said he had consensual sex with the girl. He denied using a knife or having a knife.

It was further stated that comments he had made in a police interview were based on the fact that he was embarrassed about the allegation against him. (The trial continues)