A TAXI driver accused of sexually assaulting a teenager in the back of his car broke down in tears and said he was comforting the girl after he spurned her advances.

Ali Hassan, aged 34, told Bolton Crown Court yesterday that the 18-year-old confessed she “liked black men” before pushing him up against the car door and kissing him.

Hassan, a private hire driver of Bertrand Road, Bolton, denies touching and kissing the girl while she was in the back of his taxi.

His DNA was found in a swab taken off the girl’s neck but Hassan, who works for Metro in Tonge Moor, told the court he kissed her neck to comfort her.

Michael Maher, defending, led Hassan through the events of January 4 last year when the girl got into his car at Nelson Square about 2.45am.

Hassan told the court he was off duty and waiting for a friend when the girl “begged” him to take her home.

He said: “She said she liked African people, they are friendly. Her exact words were “I like black people”. That’s when I started to say “can you sit back and put your seat belt on please”.”

Hassan said she reacted with a “bad temper” and proclaimed “you are all the same, you are all dogs”.

He told the jury the girl started crying and said: “I was trying to comfort her. I said I didn’t want to hurt her, I was feeling it was my fault.”

He claims she then pushed him against the door and kissed him on the stomach.

Hassan also denies attempted sexual assault in relation to another 18- year-old female passenger.

Originally from Somalia, Hassan worked as a truck driver in Holland before moving to the UK and starting his taxi job in October 2007. He is married and has four young children.

The case continues.