THE alleged victim in a Worcester rape case began giving evidence without the use of a screen to hide her face at Worcester Crown Court.

The young woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was called as a witness in the trial of three men, two of whom (Bradley Tout and Kulin Odedra) stand accused of raping her.

The alleged rapes are said by the prosecution to have happened in Tout's car after he parked it behind a skip in County Hall in Worcester and later the same day at another isolated location which has not yet been identified.

The witness box has a curtain which can be drawn around the complainant but the woman, who was 16 at the time of the alleged offences, did not make any application through her barrister for such 'special measures' and was visible from the dock and from the public gallery when Steven Bailey, prosecuting, began his examination.

Bradley Tout, 20, of Durham Road, Ronkswood, Worcester, Kulin Odedra, 28, of Canterbury Road, Ronkswood and Kaasim Multani, 20, of Westminster Road, Ronkswood, deny paying for the sexual services of a child after giving her alcohol, cannabis, soft drink and food during the incident on December 27, 2016.

Odedra denies two counts of rape, one of attempted rape, one of assault by penetration and one of attempting to sexually exploit a child. Tout denies a single count of rape.

She told the jury of 10 men and two women she felt 'awkward and annoyed' when she discovered there were two other men with Bradley Tout. The woman said Tout had told her Multani would be there but had made no mention of Odedra. The witness had been due to complete her evidence yesterday but a series of delays meant she will have to continue giving evidence on Monday.

She is scheduled to be cross-examined by Pamela Brain for Odedra, Abigail Nixon for Tout and Adam King for Multani.

The court was beset by a series of delays which meant the jury, which was due to begin hearing the case at 10.30pm was not called into court until 12.55pm.

This kept not only the jury and defendants waiting but also the complainant in the case who had arrived in the morning.

At one point, before the complainant gave evidence, judge Nicolas Cartwright told the jury the witness would not be able to give evidence until Thursday as she was due to go on holiday on Monday. The jury was sent away on this understanding. However, the case was able to proceed yesterday and the jury heard some of the complainant's account of what happened.

The original intention had been to hear the complainant's evidence within a single working day. The trial continues.