Rapper Cleared Of Killing Girlfriend Is Banned From The Roads

Court Again: Ceon Broughton

A rapper who was cleared on appeal of killing his girlfriend, who fatally overdosed at a music festival, has been banned from the roads after refusing to give a blood specimen to police.

Ceon Broughton, 33 - who performs as CeonRPG - was released from an eight-and-a-half year prison sentence when the Court of Appeal quashed his manslaughter conviction in 2020.

At Westminster Magistrates Court last month he pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen to City of London Police when driving his black 1.6 litre Daihatsu Sportrak in the Square Mile on June 5.

He also pleaded guilty on the day of his trial, after initially fighting the charge, to driving in Cornhill without a licence authorising him to drive the vehicle.

Broughton, of Island Centre Way, Enfield was fined £250, with £200 costs and ordered to pay a £34 victim surcharge.

He was also disqualified from driving for sixteen months.

In 2019 Broughton was jailed following the death of Louella Fletcher-Michie, 24, the daughter of Holby City actor John Michie.

He had given her hallucinogenic Class A drug 2-CP at Dorset’s Festival in 2017.

She was found dead in woodland, 400 metres from the festival’s hospital tent in the early hours on September 11, the day she was due to turn twenty-five years-old.

Westminster Magistrates Court

Broughton recorded her “disturbed, agitated and then seriously ill,” the trial at Winchester Crown Court was told, where Broughton was also  convicted of supplying the Class A drug.

However, three Court of Appeal judges overturned the manslaughter conviction, ruling the prosecution failed to prove Louella could have lived if Broughton called for help.

A trial expert said she would have had a 90% chance of survival if given medical treatment even nearly five hours after taking the drug, but the judges ruled this was insufficient to meet the criminal standard of proof.

Broughton had received seven years for manslaughter, plus eighteen months for supplying the drug and that conviction remains on his record.

After he won his appeal Broughton’s lawyers released a statement which read: “Ceon remains devastated by her death.

“He has always wished that he could have done more to save her.

“He loved Louella and she him, but he knows that no words will ever be sufficient to convey his sense of responsibility for what happened or to begin to remove the pain that others have been caused.”

Range Rover Theatrical Agent Cleared Of Driving Into 'Cycling Mikey'

A theatrical agent, who jumped a traffic queue in his Range Rover and carried a well-known cycling campaigner on his bonnet, has been cleared of dangerous driving and assault.

Paul Jerome Lyon-Maris, 60, was on his way to an appointment in heavy morning rush hour traffic at 8.25am when he ignored a ‘Keep Left’ sign and was blocked by Michael Van Erp, 50.

The jury at Southwark Crown Court were played video the Dutch cycling campaigner recorded on his GoPro camera in which he is heard shouting: “Why are you driving into me?”

Lyon-Maris, of Wychcombe Studios, England Lane, Hampstead was seen pointing at his watch as his partner of 33 years shouted about an appointment.

He was found not guilty of driving his grey two-litre Range Rover Velar dangerously on September 9, last year in Outer Circle, Regent’s Park.

Lyon-Maris was also found not guilty of assaulting professional carer Mr Van Erp, who has a popular YouTube channel called ‘CyclingMikey’.

Lyon-Maris admitted to the jury he ignored the ‘Keep Left’ arrow and overtook a line of queuing cars on the wrong side of the road so he could look for a parking place for his physio appointment.

“For a while I sat in that traffic. The problem for a driver is the traffic lights are very quick to change, only four or five cars at a time.

“Mindful of the fact I had an appointment with my physio I thought I might go down the right side of that road where there was a lot of parking.”

Van Erp’s video shows Lyon-Maris overtaking the line of cars for approximately 200 yards on the wrong side of the road.

“It was clear and I thought I would park in the bay at the end because the road was clear, I could see, to go around the wrong side of the arrow,” explained Lyon-Maris.

“I decided I was going to go the wrong way around that the blue arrow and at that point a man stepped out in front of the car right in front of me at which point I applied the brakes and stopped.

“I did not know who he was or what he wanted to do. He was waving an arm and in his hand had a long stick.

“Having been met by this intimidating figure I said something that I thought would calm the situation: ‘I’m on my way to a medical appointment.’

“He then, with his stick, banged it down on the windscreen and I said: ‘What the hell? What’s going on? What are you doing?’ and before I knew it he was on my bonnet, fell on it, jumped on it.

“He was all of a sudden on my bonnet. All I was saying was: ‘Please get out of the way.’

“I am not used to people jumping on my bonnet on the public highway and had to decide what to do.

“Tension was heightened during Covid and there was a stranger with a stick in his hand.

“I moved very slowly out of the way of any traffic and pulled over. He was at that point calling the police on his watch.

“I did not know what this man was doing, but that I could pull in once I got around the corner. He is clinging on and I am slowly going around.”

Lyon-Maris’s partner of 33 years, Robin Muir, got out and challenged Van Erp, the trial heard.

“Robin was saying: ‘Please get off the bonnet.’ I was saying: ‘Robin leave it, get back in the car.’

“I was surprised and a little intimidated,” he added, denying he was angry during the incident.

When cross-examined the defendant insisted: “He was not rational at the time. I thought I was being totally rational.”

The video records Lyon-Maris waving his arms at Van Erp, but he denied this was in anger.

“If I was gesticulating that was not aggressive, that was a way of expressing myself. I am not a person who becomes enraged.

“I can’t go backwards because that’s turning away from the man on my bonnet. I can’t go left so my instinct was to move slowly around the corner and out of the way.

“When someone jumps on your bonnet you have a moment to decide what to do.

“He was clenched on the bonnet of the car, you can see his fingers, they were fixed. He was hooked on and I decided to move very slowly so he would not flip off.

“It is not a safe thing for someone to jump onto your bonnet without reason and his reason was not clear.

“I did not move forward and he jumped onto the bonnet, stepped back and then jumped onto the bonnet again.”

"He Has Driven Into Me": 'CyclingMikey' Recalls Bonnet Ride At 'Gandalf Corner'

'CyclingMikey': Michael Van Erp

A well-known road safety activist, known as ‘Cycling Mikey’, told a jury a theatrical agent deliberately drove his Range Rover into him at a traffic junction, which has gained international notoriety.

Michael Van Erp, 50, uploads clips to his YouTube channel of motoring offences and has reported ex-boxer Chris Eubank; movie director Guy Ritchie and footballer Frank Lampard.

Paul Jerome Lyon-Maris, 60, was driving his grey two-litre Range Rover Velar on the wrong aside of the road in Outer Circle, Regent’s park when Van Erp blocked his path, while filming.

“Somebody in America called me ‘BikeGandalf’  as in ‘You Shall Not Pass’ from Lord of the Rings. I tweeted it and everyone started calling it Gandalf Corner,” Van Erp told the trial.

Lyon-Maris, of Wychcombe Studios, England Lane, Hampstead has pleaded not guilty to one count of driving dangerously on September 9, last year and assaulting professional carer Mr Van Erp. 

Southwark Crown Court heard Van Erp reported a total of 358 motoring incidents to the police in 2019, with an 80% conviction rate.

Lyon-Maris, who ironically has represented actor Sir Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Oscar-winner Colin Firth was rushing to a physio appointment at 8.25am.

He claims Van Erp deliberately jumped onto the bonnet of his vehicle and was carried for approximately twenty yards around a right-hand corner after he admittedly ignored a ‘Keep Left’ arrow.

The jury were played video the Dutch professional carer recorded on his GoPro camera in which he is heard shouting: “Why are you driving into me?”

He was cross-examined by Michael Epstein, defending, who asked: “This is what you do isn’t it? If cars don’t adhere to what you want them to do, this is your fall back position isn’t it?

“You have a default position of getting onto bonnets of vehicles and claiming they have driven into you.

“You have taken it upon yourself to police the roads haven’t you? You monitor the roads.”

Van Erp replied: “I am stopping the immediate danger these drivers pose to other roads users.”

He had two cameras with him and was positioned in a central pedestrian island. “I stepped off at risk to myself,” he told the court.

Dismissing the suggestion he deliberately threw himself onto the agent’s vehicle, Van Erp said: “That’s a typical thing a driver might say. ‘He threw himself on my bonnet.’

“I have not gone onto the bonnet of his car. He has driven into me.

“I did not have the impression this was a real emergency. I have never had a real emergency at that junction.

“This did not feel like a real emergency. It felt like impatience.”

The jury were played Van Erp’s video recording of the incident, but the complainant himself rarely viewed it. “I felt it very distressing,” he said and after watching it before giving evidence he added: “I was left panting.”

Mr Epstein suggested the video proved Van Erp’s real motive to achieve online “notoriety”. “I suggest that was a conscious move on your part to get on the bonnet of his vehicle.

“That was a pre-determined choreographed action to grab and hold onto that bonnet.”

Van Erp denied his actions were deliberate. “He specifically drove into me twice. Mr Lyon-Maris drove right up to me and hit me.

“You are trying to suggest I am the antagonist here.”

“I am,” replied the defence lawyer.

Paul Lyon-Maris (L) & lawyer Michael Epstein (R)

“My interpretation was that he was horrified someone would block him there.

“There seems to be a bit of a culture war between drivers and cyclists in this country. cyclists are even hated and as a Dutchman I don’t think the British general public know how bad it is out there.”

The video of the confrontation was earlier played to the jury. Lyon-Maris can be heard shouting: “I’ve got an appointment at half past eight. Get out of the way!”

Prosecutor Mr James Dean told the trial: “On the day in question the defendant was driving south down the Outer Circle and there was a line of traffic going back one hundred yards, caused by traffic lights at Marylebone Road.

“At the junction there is a traffic island, which is quite wide and as you approach there is a ‘keep left’ arrow.

“Mr Van Erp was standing at that island as he had on previous occasions and had a head strap carrying a GoPro camera and had a selfie stick , which had a camera on the end off it.

“He was there to see if anyone was going to avoid that traffic island to execute a right hand turn .

“He is a cyclist and he and other cyclists say they are inconvenienced or endangered by illegal manoeuvres there.

“He saw the Range Rover coming towards him, coming out of the line of traffic and stepped out accordingly, determined to stop him.

“The driver, who had one male passenger, stopped and immediately began to remonstrate in a very agitated manner, which you will see on the video, shouting and telling him to get out of the way because he had an urgent doctor’s appointment.”

The prosecutor told the jury Lyon-Maris moved his Range Rover forward, causing Van Erp, who moved to the UK in 1998, to fall onto the bonnet. 

“The driver continues to move forward at a walking pace and carried Mr Van Erp, who fell over the bonnet again and continued to drive on the wrong side of the road and stopped twenty yards later with Mr Van Erp still on the bonnet.”

The jury were played Van Erp’s video and he could be heard dismissing Lyon-Maris’s claim to be late for a medical appointment. “I don’t care, you’re a liar. Call 999,” he said.

“I’m calling the police, you hit me,” continued Van Erp. “You cannot be driving on me. Don’t touch me or I will smack you. Your driving is outrageous.

“Do not drive off. If you drive off that’s leaving the scene of an accident.”

A female eye-witness claimed it was the second time that morning Van Erp deliberately jumped onto car bonnets, but the cyclist objected: “I didn’t launch myself onto the bonnet. Don’t tell lies.”

Mr Dean said: “He did not fall or throw himself onto the bonnet.”

Lyon-Maris was recorded telling police at the scene: “He threw himself onto my bonnet and he would not get off. I am late for an appointment because the road is closed.”

He admitted ignoring the ‘Keep Left’ sign and was later fined for that motoring offence, telling police: “I’m so sorry. He jumped onto my bonnet.”

The police officer knew Van Erp and told him: “I’ve watched your videos. I know what you do.”

Van Erp told police: “Growing up in Zimbabwe my tolerance for risk is quite high.”

Lyon-Maris told the officers: “I apologise for ruining your morning,” insisting he was not concerned by Van Erp’s video recording. “He would have recorded me trying to avoid him.”

Mr Dean suggested Lyon-Maris simply lost his temper that busy morning.

“He could have gone back and then gone back into the queue of cars and he may have found that humiliating in front of the other queue of cars.

“He was late for a physiotherapy appointment and perhaps felt entitled to break the law.”

Trial continues……………

Theatrical Agent Takes Road Safety Campaigner 'Cycling Mikey' For A Ride

'Cycling Mikey': Michael Van Erp 

A theatrical agent, who jumped a traffic queue in his Range Rover, carried a well-known cycling campaigner on the bonnet for twenty yards when challenged about his driving, a court heard yesterday.

Paul Jerome Lyon-Maris, 60, was on his way to an appointment in heavy morning rush hour traffic at 8.25am when he ignored a ‘Keep Left’ sign and was blocked by Michael Van Erp, 50.

The jury at Southwark Crown Court were played video the Dutch cycling campaigner recorded on his GoPro camera in which he is heard shouting: “Why are you driving into me?”

Lyon-Maris, of Wychcombe Studios, England Lane, Hampstead can be heard shouting: “I’ve got an appointment at half past eight. Get out of the way!”

He has pleaded not guilty to one count of driving his grey two-litre Range Rover Velar dangerously on September 9, last year in Outer Circle, Regent’s Park.

Lyon-Maris has also pleaded not guilty to one count of assaulting professional carer Mr Van Erp, who has a popular YouTube channel called ‘CyclingMikey’.

Prosecutor Mr James Dean told the trial: “On the day in question the defendant was driving south down the Outer Circle and there was a line of traffic going back one hundred yards, caused by traffic lights at Marylebone Road.

“At the junction there is a traffic island, which is quite wide and as you approach there is a ‘keep left’ arrow.

“Mr Van Erp was standing at that island as he had on previous occasions and had a head strap carrying a GoPro camera and had a selfie stick , which had a camera on the end off it.

“He was there to see if anyone was going to avoid that traffic island to execute a right hand turn .

“He is a cyclist and he and other cyclists say they are inconvenienced or endangered by illegal manoeuvres there.

“He saw the Range Rover coming towards him, coming out of the line of traffic and stepped out accordingly, determined to stop him.

Paul Lyon-Maris (L) & lawyer Michael Epstein (R)

“The driver, who had one male passenger, stopped and immediately began to remonstrate in a very agitated manner, which you will see on the video, shouting and telling him to get out of the way because he had an urgent doctor’s appointment.”

The prosecutor told the jury Lyon-Maris moved his Range Rover forward, causing Van Erp, who moved to the UK in 1998, to fall onto the bonnet. 

“The driver continues to move forward at a walking pace and carried Mr Van Erp, who fell over the bonnet again and continued to drive on the wrong side of the road and stopped twenty yards later with Mr Van Erp still on the bonnet.”

The jury were played Van Erp’s video and he could be heard dismissing Lyon-Maris’s claim to be late for a medical appointment. “I don’t care, you’re a liar. Call 999,” he said.

“I’m calling the police, you hit me,” continued Van Erp. “You cannot be driving on me. Don’t touch me or I will smack you. Your driving is outrageous.

“Do not drive off. If you drive off that’s leaving the scene of an accident.”

A female eye-witness claimed it was the second time that morning Van Erp deliberately jumped onto car bonnets, but the cyclist objected: “I didn’t launch myself onto the bonnet. Don’t tell lies.”

Mr Dean said: “He did not fall or throw himself onto the bonnet.”

Lyon-Maris was recorded telling police at the scene: “He threw himself onto my bonnet and he would not get off. I am late for an appointment because the road is closed.”

He admitted ignoring the ‘Keep Left’ sign and was later fined for that motoring offence, telling police: “I’m so sorry. He jumped onto my bonnet.”

The police officer knew Van Erp and told him: “I’ve watched your videos. I know what you do.”

Van Erp told police: “Growing up in Zimbabwe my tolerance for risk is quite high.”

Lyon-Maris told the officers: “I apologise for ruining your morning,” insisting he was not concerned by Van Erp’s video recording. “He would have recorded me trying to avoid him.”

Mr Dean suggested Lyon-Maris simply lost his temper that busy morning.

“He could have gone back and then gone back into the queue of cars and he may have found that humiliating in front of the other queue of cars.

“He was late for a physiotherapy appointment and perhaps felt entitled to break the law.”

Van Erp told the trial he had already turned around two vehicles that morning for driving on the wrong side of the road when he saw Lyon-Maris approaching from the back of a long queue of vehicles.

“The third driver came with a bit more speed. The driver came up to me, paused briefly and then drove into me.

“The driver and passenger were screaming something about a doctor’s appointment.

Outside Court: Michael Van Erp

“The first time the driver drove into me wasn’t very hard.

“I was directly in front of him. Right in front of the bonnet.

“It was a very stressful moment because of the speed he came up with.

“I am told I do not look afraid, but I can assure you I am on the inside.

“I was reasonably sure there was no emergency. People with a genuine emergency would behave quite differently.

“The passenger stuck his head out of the window and shouted: ‘We have got to go to the doctor,’ with very high energy.

“Both were moving in a hugely agitated way, as if they were upset or stressed and the driver drove forward again.”

Van Erp took one step back and told the jury the car came at him again.

“He bumped me rather harder this time. The hardness was not enough to leave injuries, but I played ice hockey and it was as hard as an average ice hockey kick to feel ‘oof’ on the inside.

“I remember leaning forward because I had no choice, grabbing the indentation of the bonnet.

“Afterwards I realised my head camera had been knocked off, my GoPro camera, from the impact of the vehicle hitting me.

“I had no choice because I was bumped with his car. Nobody should bump anyone with their car.

“Two or three tons of Range Rover doesn’t stop very easily.

“I remember lifting my feet off the ground because I was concerned abut being dragged under the car.

“He was still driving forward, not very fast, maybe going faster and slower somewhere around walking pace.

“I was looking at the driver and passenger. I remember saying: ’Stop, go back,’ and there was more gesticulating from the passenger.

“The driver carried on driving with me on the bonnet and I was aware of much noise and commotion from people around the junction.

“I remember the driver screaming at me: ‘I’m late for the doctor and pointing at his watch.’

“It looked like quite a nice watch, a goldish colour.

“The passenger got out and pleaded with me to move out of the way so they could get to the doctor.”

Van Erp heard the unknown female passer-by complain to a police officer he had already jumped onto two vehicles at the junction.

“I don’t throw myself on any vehicles. In fact I backed away from this vehicle before this gentleman hit me,” he told the trial.

There was another confrontation with Lyon-Maris’s passenger, the court heard.

“He went to push me out of the way and said something along the lines of ‘done this before’ and said: ‘Give me that.’ in relation to my 360 degree camera and I shoved him off.”

Earlier Van Erp told the jury he often visited the junction to block cars driving the wrong way down the road.

“I accept stepping out in front of drivers is a risk on my part, but I see it as taking the keys off a drunk driver.”

Trial continues………….

Train Pervert Wanted: Do You Know This Suspect?

Transport police are hunting this suspected train pervert after two female passengers were indecently exposed to on consecutive days.

British Transport Police (BTP) have released this image and are appealing for the assistance of the public in identifying him.

They have announced they are investigating two instances of a male train passenger masturbating in front of the women.

On August 29, shortly after 6.00am, a man masturbated in front of a woman on a train travelling from East Croydon to London Bridge.

The next day, on August 30, at around 9.15pm, a man followed a woman on a train travelling from West Hampstead to Bedford and began masturbating in front of her.

Officers believe the man in the CCTV images may have useful information which could help their investigation.

If you recognise him or have any further information, please contact BTP by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 2200088600. 

Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Sex Creep Who Targeted Female Students Convicted

A prowler, who deliberately targeted terrified lone young women in student accommodation, remains locked-up after audaciously failing to convince a jury the victims were flirting with him.

Troy Maurice, 29, lied that he was only looking for somewhere to sit down and relax and listen to music on his headphones when scoping student housing for potential targets.

He has remained in custody since police arrested him for his second attack and lost his bid for freedom at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court when the jury convicted him on all five counts.

Maurice, of Beaudesert Road, Handsworth, Birmingham was found guilty of sexually assaulting two young women on March 27 and April 16.

He was also convicted on both occasions of trespassing, with intent to commit a sexual offence, and falsely imprisoning the second victim in her studio flat.

The trial heard Maurice struck after entering Cliff House, Claybrook Road, Hammersmith and Fulham Palace Studios, Fulham Palace Road.

A student was doing her laundry in the basement of Cliff House and told the jury Maurice, who she did not know, was down there and crept up behind her.

She said he placed his hands on her back and moved them up to her bra straps and even tried to pull down her leggings, while telling her “shush” and to remain quiet.

However, Maurice tried to lie his way out of the accusation, claiming: “It’s an okay place to hang around for no particular reason, somewhere to sit.

“There’s not many people around there and I was confident I was allowed to go there,” he told the trial. “I would go there to chill out and play some music.

“The laundry is the only place with seats and stuff and she was doing her laundry in front of me.

“She was bending over to pick up her clothes. I thought she was an attractive woman and I would say she was being provocative.

“The way she was bending over and bouncing and what she was wearing was revealing.

“I thought: ‘Maybe she wants me to make a move or something,’ and I was completely unaware she was going to overreact.”

Maurice denied locking the laundry door to prevent the terrified young woman from fleeing and reaching for her bra straps or attempting to remove her leggings.

“I put my hand on her leggings, assuming, I swear to God, she would give me a positive response, which she did at first and then she flipped out.

“She wasn’t having it and I was disappointed. I was 100% sure she was leading me on to make a move.

“She was very upset and after that I shrugged my shoulders and left.”

Three weeks later Maurice followed his second victim into Fulham Palace Studios, where he pushed her into her flat.

He detained her there, deleted information from her phone and attempted to unzip her trousers and touch her breasts.

However, Maurice denied he was a prowler, claiming: “It was socially acceptable for me to go there.

“I was trying to find somewhere to sit down and play music and relax,” he told the jury.

“I asked her if I could charge my phone and she took me to her room.

“She said it was okay for me to sleep there and clean and shower as well.”

Maurice denied piling suitcases against the door to prevent the terrified victim from escaping, insisting: “It was a very positive vibe, I started to like her and she started to like me.

“I knew from her mannerisms she liked me and she was behaving positively.

“First she offered to hug me and was presenting her body to me sexually and that led me to ask if I could be sexual with her.”

Maurice then pleasured himself in front of his disgusted victim. 

“She said it was okay, it was sexual role-playing. She was flirting with me and stuff and was giving me energy back.”

The victim’s ordeal lasted into the early hours and when concerned security officers checked in on her Maurice coached her what to say in an attempt to get rid of them.

However, it was obvious something was wrong and the police were called.

“She was scared of the police, not me,” claimed Maurice. “I didn’t think I was going to get arrested.”

Maurice was remanded in custody until his sentencing.

Train Passenger Threatened With Knife And Robbed: Do You Know This Suspect?

Transport cops investigating a knife robbery onboard a train in south-east London have released this image of their suspect.

British Transport Police (BTP) are appealing to the public for assistance in identifying the wanted individual.

The victim was a passenger on a Plumstead to London Cannon Street railway station when they were approached by a male at approximately 9.10pm on the evening of Monday, August 1.

The suspect is reported to have demanded the victim’s possessions. 

When the victim refused the suspect showed the victim a knife tucked into his waistband. 

He then stole the victim’s bag and their trainers.

The suspect is believed to have left the train at Charlton station.

Anyone who knows him is asked to contact BTP by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40. 

In both cases quote reference number 653 of 01/08/22.

Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Architect Guilty Of Molesting Drunken 'Bottomless Prosecco Brunch' Graduate

An architect molested a drunken fellow-graduate when she passed out on a leather Chesterfield couch, following an all-you-can-drink ‘bottomless Prosecco brunch’, a court heard.

Oliver Smail, 31, who has a Master of Architecture qualification from Kingston University was convicted of touching the woman, who joined his group’s all-night pub and bar crawl, between her legs.

“I remember him trying to touch me and moving to the other side of the sofa,” she told the jury at Inner London Crown Court, adding she woke at 6.30am with her underwear and tight spanx shorts around her knees.

She insisted Smail, of St. Catherine’s Court, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire and a former Planning Support Officer with Aylesbury Vale District Council groped her between the legs as he lay alongside her on the living-room sofa.

He denied, but was convicted last Friday by the jury of one count of sexual assault by penetration at his friend’s two-bedroom apartment in Stead Street, Walworth on September 8, 2019.

Smail was bailed until October 28 for sentencing.

“I woke up and that’s what was happening,” the woman told the trial. “There was a point in the night I was aware of him.

“I was aware of this because of the way he was touching me. I think he was completely out of it. Very intoxicated.”

The woman told the trial she began drinking in Dalston’s trendy ‘Jones & Sons’ which offers a two-hour ‘Off The Wagon’ brunch of never-ending Prosecco.

“We were drinking for two-and-a-half hours,” she told the court. 

She was celebrating a birthday and she and her two female friend’s joined Smail’s mostly-male group and continued drinking cocktails at the nearby ‘Three Sheets’ bar.

Smail and friends Tom Madden and Alexander Hodgson-Doughty all know each other from the University of Kent.

They moved onto other local pubs and bars, continuing to drink and both the woman and Smail snorted cocaine during the evening and she also took an ‘ecstasy’ pill.

“I have been very honest that I took ‘ecstasy’ and cocaine. I have no recollection of who gave it to me, it was one of the three men.”

The group then took a minicab to Elephant & Castle with the vague idea of going to the Ministry of Sound nightclub, but instead bought a bottle of gin from and off licence and continued drinking at Alex’s flat.

“I am not denying I was drunk,” she added, recalling a short chat she had with Smail that evening. “I got the feeling he was flirting, but from early on I was not interested and made that clear.”

After a few rounds of gin and tonics at the flat Alex disappeared into his bedroom with the complainant’s friend, leaving her to sleep on the living-room couch.

The next morning she burst into the bedroom to complain about Smail to her friend, who asked him: “Did you finger my friend while she was asleep? Did you do that?”

The friend said Smail tried to hide under a pillow and replied: “I thought she consented.”

When cross-examined he insisted he was referring to her consent to leg touching and nothing more intimate. 

He quickly put his jacket on and left the apartment as the complainant’s friend continued shouting and demanding the police be called.

Smail, who runs his own design firm, told the jury all he did was rub the woman’s leg when he woke up in the middle of the night to find it in his crotch.

He was also drinking in ‘Jones & Sons’, where he also confessed to taking cocaine. “It is not something I regularly do, it was pushed towards me during brunch.”

Regarding the complainant he said: “I didn’t find her sexually attractive,” but admitted texting a friend during the evening to describe her as “cute.”

“I was really quite drunk,” he admitted, explaining his motivation for squeezing onto the couch was to sleep and not any sexual motive.

“I woke up with something rubbing against my crotch.

“I was in a very deep sleep, very hazy and my reaction was to feel the leg. I kind of rubbed it, squeezed it like a massage just to see if it was a girl or a guy or a reaction of some sort.

“She kind of squeezed my hand and rubbed it and nothing was said by anyone.”

Smail claims he got up to sleep in the spare room, but Alex told him it was being rented via Air B&B so he returned to the couch.

“When I woke up I was being kicked in the head. It was not as hard kick and I took it as a meaning she did not want me on the sofa I had been rubbing her calf earlier on.

“I was so dazed and confused. I did not understand why I was being kicked.”

Smail denied pulling down the woman’s underwear. “I was not aware of what she was wearing under her dress. I never moved any of her clothing.

“I only had one hand that was free at any time.”

He was questioned two weeks later and charged over two years after that. “It was upsetting. I remember my heart racing and having this massive weight on my shoulders and having to trust in this system that I am going through.”

When questioned by the officers Smail admitted: “Obviously she is a pretty girl and I am a man so I may make a few moves.

Insisting he would do nothing without the woman’s consent he recalled the moment she kicked him in the head. “I remember thinking: ‘Oh God. I totally misread that situation.’

“I grabbed a pillow and slept on the floor until I was woken up by her friend pulling it away.”

Ex-Dulwich College Music Teacher Denies Molesting Pupils

A former music teacher at prestigious Dulwich College appeared in court for the first time yesterday, accused of molesting two boys during piano lessons at the private school three decades ago.

Martin Ball, 88, indicated not guilty pleas at Croydon Magistrates Court, which declined jurisdiction and bailed him to appear at Inner London Crown Court on October 28.

He is charged with two counts of indecently assaulting the boys, both aged under sixteen years-old, at the school between January 1, 1990 and January 1, 1995.

Ball, of The Drive, Beckenham, is alleged to have touched both boys over their clothing during lessons a the £48,000-a year school.

Prosecutor Dwaine Coward told the court: “The victims were students at Dulwich College, during which time they took piano lessons.

“The defendant was a piano teacher and the defendant would touch the victims’ bottom or groin while teaching.

“If convicted, the defendant would have abused his position of trust, which increases culpability.

“The sentence, if convicted, is likely to be well in excess of the Magistrates Court range.

“This conduct was carried on for some substantial time. The frequency of occasions extending over a period of time would be an aggravating factor.”

The court heard Ball is facing imprisonment on conviction of between twelve months and four years.

Notable former Dulwich College pupils include actor Chiwetel Ejiofor; authors P.G. Wodehouse and Raymond Chandler; Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera; politician Nigel Farage; former Governor of the Bank of England Eddie George and explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.