A 70-YEAR-OLD woman told police she had been sexually assaulted in her bed by a stranger as her husband slept in the conservatory.

But the woman, who can not be named for legal reasons, said no-one believed her as the police thought she was hallucinating, a court heard.

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Zsolt Suhaj, 25, has now admitted being in the woman’s bedroom, but claims he touched her accidentally.

He also admits a string of other break-ins at bungalows and homes in Nelson, Colne and Barrowford, but denies a sexual motive.

Suhaj, of Barkerhouse Road, Nelson, was caught in October after police released CCTV images of a man they wanted to speak to in connection with an alleged rape in Colne on October 9.

He told police he had consensual sex with the 66-year-old Colne victim, after entering the house through a bedroom window.

Preston Crown Court heard a transcript of a 999 call made by his first alleged victim on October 12.

She said she had seen reports of the Colne incident of Facebook and wanted the police to know her complaint was similar.

She said: “The police came out but I had just come out of hospital with pneumonia.

“A big chap came round and a little one and they just said ‘are you on medication?’ and I said ‘of course’ because I was on antibiotics.

“They said ‘are you sure you wasn’t just having a nightmare?’

“I went through a traumatic experience that night and I still can’t sleep because I’m scared.”

In a recorded police interview, played to the court, the woman said she woke from her sleep to find a man in her bedroom assaulting her.

At first she thought she was dreaming but she pushed his arm away and reached for his face - which felt like ‘a stiff brush’.

As she screamed, she said her attacker put his finger to his lips saying ‘shh!”

Suhaj, of Barkerhouse Road, Nelson, denies rape, sexual assault, five counts of trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence and attempted trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.

The trial continues.