A man has appeared in the dock, with his face covered in tattoos and horns on his head, accused of historic sex offences.

But the jury in the case at Maidstone Crown Court were asked not to judge the case on how Stefan Farbrother looked.

The 45-year-old, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, is accused of 13 sex offences dating back to the 1990s, which he denies.

After the jury was sworn in, Judge Robert Lazarus told them that they would have noticed the defendant had a "rather striking appearance".

He said they were to decide the case on the evidence and his appearance was "completely irrelevant".

Prosecutor Tanya Robinson alleged that he sexually assaulted his victim in Sevenoaks more than 30 years ago.

She said: "The victim told police in a taped interview that she remembered sometimes trying to get away.

"She would try and kick him and push him off. Sometimes she couldn’t. He’d lie on her and she couldn’t move.

"She said she hated it and explained that sometimes he would give her toys like Smurf figures. He would also handcuff her.”

Ms Robinson added that she began self-harming and wanted to kill herself.

"In her video interview, she described the defendant smashing panes of glass at an allotment and cutting his hands open.

"She says ‘he’d punch the glass until I said that I forgave him’. She said she forgave him when she didn’t, because she couldn’t let him kill himself 'because that would be my fault.”

The trial continues.