A TEENAGER has denied claims she made up a story about having been raped to get out of trouble at school.

Preston Crown Court heard the 15-year-old told teachers and police she was attacked by Imran Khan, aged 36, in an upstairs bedroom at a house in Chester Street, Blackburn, after she and her friend, aged 14, got into a Honda Civic driven by another man, Zhaid Mohmmed, aged 45, from Boardman Street, Halliwell, late at night in the town centre.

Charles Kayne, defending, asked the girl, who appeared via video link, if she made up the allegation and told her teacher because she was ‘frightened’ she would get into trouble for refusing to go to her form class.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “Why would I use that as an excuse of getting out of trouble?

“I told her because it was wrong and it was destroying my mind.”

The barrister put it to the alleged victim that she had convinced herself "through shame or fear" that the act of consensual sexual intercourse was rape.

The girl said: “How many times? I did not consent to sex with that man.”

Prosecuting, Robert Golinski asked the girl about what frame of mind she was in when she told the teacher what Khan, of Tenby Close, had allegedly done to her.

She replied: “Not a very good one. I did not know what to think, what to do, whether to tell anyone or what.”

Khan told the jury the girls had said they were 16 and 17 and that he and Mohmmed would have ‘kicked them out’ of the car had they known or suspected they were younger.

He denied ever telling them to duck their heads so that the police could not see them and said they only ever spoke in English.

The prosecution claimed the men had talked in Punjabi and made plans to take advantage of the youngsters.

Mr Golinski said: “You thought you could take advantage of them in some way. You thought that they might be sexually available to you and when they got in the car, that was what the whole thing was heading towards — some sort of sexual activity that was planned.”

“No,” said the defendant.

Khan denies rape and two counts of detaining a child without lawful authority.

Mohmmed also denies two charges of sexual activity with a female under 16 and two of detaining a child without lawful authority.

The case continues.