A TAXI driver sexually assaulted a teenage passenger after she told him she needed to get money from a cash machine to pay her fare, a court heard.

As his car stopped at a red traffic light Ogato Koji is alleged to have run his hands up her thighs and tugged at her knickers, telling her, "You can pay me in another way."

At Bolton Crown Court Koji, aged 55, of Cambria Square, Deane, has gone on trial accused of sexually assaulting the young woman. He denies committing the offence.

Chloe Fordham, prosecuting, told a jury of 10 women and two men how, at 1.30am on Sunday February 2 last year, the 19-year-old woman had gone to Bolton town centre to meet a friend.

The pair went to several bars and the Level nightclub.

"It is perhaps no surprise for two 19-year-old girls on a Saturday night that they had a significant amount to drink," said Miss Fordham, who added that the alleged victim admits she was drunk but insists she was in control of her actions and speech.

At 4.40am the two women went their separate ways and the one of them got into a Metro taxi driven by Koji.

"She told him she had no cash and asked him to drive to a cash machine," said Miss Fordham.

But when they arrived at the Nat West bank on Deansgate the machine was out of order and so she got back into the front passenger seat of the Toyota Prius taxi to continue her journey towards Horwich.

"The defendant wasn't all that keen to take her," said Miss Fordham, who added that they then came to an agreement that he would stop at another cashpoint during the journey.

But after driving for around a mile Koji stopped at a red traffic light.

And, after telling her she could pay "in another way", he allegedly assaulted her.

"He pushed her head back against the head rest and kissed her with an open mouth," said Miss Frodsham.

Koji is then said to had put his hands on her thighs, moving them upwards until he was tugging at her knickers.

"She was, quite frankly, terrified," said Miss Fordham.

After a few seconds the traffic light turned green and Koji started driving again, pulling into a Shell petrol station where there was a cash point machine at around 5am.

The woman got out of the car and started walking towards the machine and pulled out her mobile phone.

Koji is then said to have walked up to her, but then got back into his car and drove away.

"She tried to get the person manning the hatch [at the petrol station shop] to let her in but he refused," said Miss Fordsham.

Instead, she managed to contact a friend on her phone and she was collected from the petrol station by another Metro driver, Mubarak Patel, who saw her withdraw cash from the ATM.

The court was told that the next day the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was persuaded to contact police by her mother.

Koji was arrested but denied sexually assaulting her. He claimed he had asked her not to put her feet up on the car's dashboard and, when she did a second time, he pushed at her thigh to remove them.

He added that, when they got to the petrol station, the woman could not get any cash out of the machine.

He said he also realised he had picked up the wrong passenger in the town centre and so drove off and left her there.

The trial continues.