A TAXI driver has been cleared by a jury of raping a teenage lesbian who he insisted had come onto him after a cab fare from Burnley town centre.

Asif Akhtar, 36, had picked up the 19-year-old on Hammerton Street after she had been kicked out of the town's Lava and Ignite nightclub because she was unsteady on her feet, Burnley Crown Court was told.

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She later told police that Akhtar, of Cardinal Street, Burnley, had started to massage her feet during the journey, and then insisted that she climb into the front of his taxi.

The girl also sent a number of texts and Facebook messages to her former best friends, insisting that she had a 'pervy taxi driver' and that she needed help.

She accused Akhtar of pulling over, near her home, and putting her hand between his legs, before forcibly kissing her, the court heard.

Akhtar is then alleged to have forced her to carry out oral sex, while 'laughing and joking', before putting his mobile number into the girl's phone, according to prosecutors.

The girl arrived home in a 'hysterical' state, her partner later told police, and through her aunt, lodged a complaint with Lancashire Police that same night.

Akhtar was arrested and immediately denied that anything untoward had happened. He was charged with rape and sexual assault and denied the offences at trial.

In evidence, Akhtar told the jury he had been a taxi driver for seven years and was self-employed. He had a private hire licence but admitted he did occasionally pick up roadside fares.

He said that they negotiated a fare and they set off, though he noticed that she 'smelled of vomit and alcohol'. She was said to have complimented him on his 'fast driving'.

But he told jurors that when he came to drop her off, she tried to kiss him, and insisted he gave her his mobile phone number so she could call his cab again for 'mate's rates'.

Akhtar, who said he repeatedly told her to 'back off', added: "I'm the victim here."

Jurors took 37 minutes to find Akhtar not guilty of both offences and he was discharged from the dock by Judge Simon Newell.