Boxing coach was a 'slobbering sexist', court told

Mick Driscoll, seen here at a previous court appearance

An England boxing coach accused of three counts of sexual assault has been described in court as behaving like a "slobbering 1970s sexist".

Award-winning trainer Michael 'Mick' Driscoll appeared at Lewes Crown Court in Brighton on Wednesday. The jury was told the first incident took place in 2019 when he barged his way into a woman's hotel room.

The 56-year-old, who oversaw the development of more than 100 national champions, was said to have "thrown her onto the bed before trying to pull up her nightie".

Mr Driscoll, who denies all the charges, said she had enticed him to her room before meeting him at the door "dressed seductively in lingerie".

Prosecutor Oliver Dunkin told the court: "As she opened the door, he pushed her in and pinned her against a mirror trying to kiss her.

"He was slobbering all over her and she was trying to fight him off as he pinned her to the wall."

The woman told police she managed to break away when her phone rang, the court heard.

"But when she put the phone down, the defendant had stripped to his underpants and was sitting on the bed," said Mr Dunkin.

Grabbing her, Mr Driscoll then "ripped at her nightie, trying to pull it up," Mr Dunkin added.

The court was told that the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had told police Mr Driscoll later apologised for the incident, saying he assumed his professional reputation would have caused her to be sexually interested in him.

A former light-welterweight and one-time Olympic hopeful, Mr Driscoll is also accused of assaulting the same woman later that year.

Mr Dunkin said: "As she walked past the defendant, he groped her around the backside and crotch area."

He described the behaviour of the boxing coach as "more akin to the kind of sexist, misogynistic behaviour you used to see in the media of the 1970s".

The trial continues.