The witness, who is entitled to anonymity, now moves on to the alleged sexual assault.

"During the conversation, he put his hand on my left thigh and I pushed his hand away," she says.

"He said that I was pretty. He said 'you’re very pretty'."

Asked how it made her feel, the woman said she was “shocked, uncomfortable”.

"I said 'I don’t like to be touched, I’m not touchy, don’t touch me'," she recalls, adding he "slightly moved away" as a result.

The witness said she continued trying to help Kebatu by asking for his email address and phone number, to which he said he didn’t have either.

She decided to go into a nearby shop to get some paper to write her name and number on, but says when she returned Kebatu was sitting with a girl.

Giving evidence now is a woman who intervened during Kebatu’s alleged offending on 8 July – his second encounter with the girl and her friends.

She spoke to Kebatu about his CV and the prospect of getting a job, but alleges he went on to sexually assault her.

Describing how they first started speaking, she says Kebatu called out to her in Epping High Street.

"He said that he needed help. I could tell he’s not from here, English is not his first language," she explains.

"He could understand me and I could understand him, I just had to make it a lot simpler."

The woman said they sat on a bench nearby, where Kebatu asked her if there were any jobs in the area.

She added: "I said I could help him with his CV if he needed help."

Hadush Kebatu has been brought back into the dock here in Court 1 and taken his seat.

He is joined once again by the interpreter – who speaks Tigrinya – and a security guard.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest this afternoon.

Image source, PA Media

On the first day of the trial, prosecutor Stuart Cowen told the judge the incidents "attracted quite a lot of publicity" due to the defendant's personal circumstances.

Hadush Kebatu is from Ethiopia and was staying at The Bell Hotel in Epping as an asylum seeker.

Thousands of people gathered in protest near the hotel in recent weeks following Kebatu's arrest - as well as groups of pro-refugee demonstrators.

Police have said 16 people have been charged with offences relating to disturbances at these protests.

Last week, the High Court granted a temporary injunction and asylum seekers will need to be moved from the site.

The injunction had been sought by Epping Forest District Council. The Home Office and the owner of the hotel are appealing against the ruling, and a hearing at the Court of Appeal is scheduled for Thursday.

The court has adjourned for lunch and will resume at 13:30 BST.

District Judge Christopher Williams will hear from one final witness before considering closing speeches from both the prosecution and defence which will conclude the trial.

He will then leave the courtroom to draft his closing remarks.

As a reminder, Kebatu is facing a total of five charges, including the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. He has denied all of them.

Our reporters are poised in court to bring the latest once the trial resumes.

Molly Dyas asked the second witness questions on behalf of the defence.

He answered “no” – or other words to that effect - to the following questions:

• [Kebatu] says that all he said to you all was ‘hello’, is that correct?
• The man says that he didn’t say 'come back to Africa with me', is he telling the truth?
• He also says he didn’t call [one of the girls] pretty, is he telling the truth about that?
• He says he didn’t ask [the girl] for a kiss, is that right?

The boy finishes by telling the court he is telling the truth

Lewis Adams
Reporting from Colchester Magistrates' Court

There hasn't been much reaction from Kebatu while this evidence is being played.

To my right you can just about hear the whispers of his interpreter translating the proceedings in the dock.

We're just coming to the end of a brief pause in court, but the latest witness is due to be cross-examined shortly.

The court remains busy, with the public gallery packed with journalists and a handful of people related to one of the girls.

Image source, PA Media

As we've been reporting, Kebatu's trial is being heard at Colchester Magistrates' Court - that means it looks slightly different to a trial being heard at a Crown Court.

Principally, there are no juries in magistrates' courts - criminal cases are heard by either a panel of magistrates or a district judge.

In this case, District Judge Christopher Williams is presiding over the trial.

Magistrates' courts deal with summary cases (less serious cases) or some either-way offences - these are ones which can either be dealt with by a magistrates' court or a Crown Court.

Indictable-only offences, such as rape and murder, have to be heard at a Crown Court.

Zoie O'Brien
Reporting from Colchester Magistates' Court

Hadush Kebatu is in court facing five charges including sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl, harassment and inciting a child into sexual activity. He has denied all counts.

Judge Christopher Williams is hearing evidence for a second day at Colchester Magistrates' Court.

This morning has so far focused on evidence from a friend of the alleged teenage victim.

Here's a recap of what he told the court:

• The friend told Judge Williams that Kebatu approached a group of school friends on both July 7 and July 8 in Epping - saying he behaved inappropriately with two girls
• He described the encounter as "weird" and told police the defendant repeatedly asked the girls for sex and kisses
• "It’s just not normal to ask that; for an adult to ask kids for a kiss. It made me feel creeped out," the witness said
• Of the second encounter, the teenager said Kebatu asked one of the girls to kiss her friend before an older woman intervened to ask if she was okay
• He then described how Kebatu "got on his knees and begged" the woman who confronted him not to call the police

The trial is continuing throughout the day - stay with us.

The boy tells the interviewing officer that Kebatu told them his name was Thomas.

"He also told us he paid about 2,500 euros (£2,155) to get on a rubber dinghy to get into our country."

During Kebatu's first court appearance, which the BBC attended, we heard he arrived in the UK on 29 June.

Continuing his interview, the boy adds: "I don't know how he's got here because we're not near the beach.

"I don't know how he's got into Epping. I thought it was weird."

We’re now being played an ABE interview with another boy who claims to have witnessed Kebatu’s alleged offending on 7 July.

He was with the other boy and some girls, and describes seeing the defendant in Epping town centre.

“We stopped because he asked us to talk to him,” he says.

“I was a bit behind, I don’t like talking to people I don’t know.

“I heard he said ‘come back to Africa, you will be a good wife’, and kept asking for a kiss on the cheek.”

Defence barrister Molly Dyas is cross-examining the boy, who is answering her questions via a live link.

He answered "no" to all of Dyas' questions, including:

• [Kebatu] says he didn’t call [the girl] pretty, is he telling the truth about that?
• He also says he didn’t ask about having babies, is that correct?
• The man says he didn’t ask [the girl] for a kiss, is he right about that?

Asked if he was telling the truth, the boy says "yes".

Lewis Adams
Reporting from Colchester Magistrates' Court

Kebatu has his arms folded and is watching intently from inside the dock as the boy’s interview with police is played to the court.

It’s being shown on two different TV screens mounted to the walls.

An interpreter is sitting to Kebatu’s right, translating what is being said for him.

Being interviewed by police, the boy is now talking about the events of 8 July.

He alleges he and his friends, including the girls, were in Epping town centre when they saw Kebatu again.

"He asked [one of the girls] to kiss me and she kissed me on the cheek, and then he asked if she could kiss him as well," the boy says.

"A bit after, he tried to stroke [the girl’s] hair and I think he did stroke her hair."

The boy says at this point, Kebatu then moved to another bench nearby.

He continues: "Then he asked this other woman to sit down with him and he was asking her how to get his CV, how to get a job."

"They was just speaking and speaking for a while and then he stood back up and ran over to [the girl].

"Then the woman asked [the girl] if she felt OK, if she was all right and she said 'No, he’s touching me and stuff'. Then the guy ran away."

The boy says Kebatu started "begging" and saying sorry after the woman called the police, who arrived moments later.

Daniel Sandford
Home affairs correspondent

The way the teenage witnesses are being handled in this case is known as achieving best evidence (ABE).

The 14-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted and her friends all gave very brief accounts to police at the scene when Kebatu was arrested in Epping on 8 July.

Then they were later interviewed at a police station in a specialist ABE suite. A video recording of the ABE interview is being played in the trial.

What we see is the teenage witness sitting on a small red armchair answering questions from a police officer who sits out of shot.

They go over the events slowly and carefully, covering everything a couple of times.

After each interview is played both prosecutor Stuart Cowen and Molly Dyas, for the defence, then have an opportunity to ask the witness live questions via video-link, with the witness sitting in another room in the court building.

To begin today’s evidence, we’re hearing from a boy who claims to have witnessed Kebatu’s alleged offending on 7 July.

His interview with the police, recorded last month, is being played to the court.

“I was on the High Road with one of my friends and two of the girls. And this guy, we saw him,” he says.

“We had a pizza and he asked for a slice.

“After, we walked down High Road to get something and we walked back and he was still there and he asked to have babies [with one of the girls].

“He said [the girls] were pretty and he said he wanted to go to The Bell Hotel and have babies.”

A reminder that the identities of children involved in this case must not be disclosed during reporting.

Image source, Matt Knight/BBC

Lewis Adams
Reporting from Colchester Magistrates' Court

There has been some confusion about how old Hadush Kebatu actually is.

The court has assured us that he was born in December 1983, making him 41 years old.

But Kebatu told magistrates on Tuesday that he was born in December 1986 - 38 years old.

At times he appeared agitated in the dock, putting a hand over his face and shaking his head.

He’s been flanked by a security guard and an interpreter, who is translating the proceedings into Tigrinya.

Image source, Julia Quenzler/BBC

As we've been reporting, court is resuming for the second day in the trial of Hadush Kebatu.

The prosecution opened the case at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court yesterday, telling the judge the Crown's case is that Kebatu told two teenage girls "he wanted to have a baby with each of them and attempted to kiss them".

Here's a recap of yesterday's evidence:

• Kebatu, from Ethiopia, stands accused of sexual assault, inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and harassment without violence - all of which he denies
• Prosecutor Stuart Cowen told the court the defendant had recently arrived in the UK, explaining the case had "attracted quite a lot of publicity" because of Kebatu's circumstances
• Of the incident, Cowen said Kebatu had approached two 14-year-old girls who were sitting on a bench and made "inappropriate comments"
• Expanding on that, the prosecution told the judge he said "he wanted to have a baby with each of them and attempted to kiss them" and invited them back to The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, where he was staying
• The court then heard Kebatu had approached the girls the next day - a police interview with one of the girls was played in court in which she said "he was really eager for a kiss"
• Defending, Molly Dyas said Kebatu denies the allegations but has accepted being in the town centre at the time

For more on yesterday's evidence, you can head to our story.

Lewis Adams
Reporting from Colchester Magistrates' Court

It’s really busy inside Court One here at Colchester Magistrates’ Court, mostly due to the large volume of journalists occupying the public gallery.

There are reporters from a variety of national and local TV, print and radio outlets.

Yesterday, prosecutor Stuart Cowen said Kebatu recently arrived in the UK and the case had "attracted quite a lot of publicity because of the defendant's personal circumstances".

Lewis Adams
Reporting from Colchester Magistrates' Court

Hadush Kebatu has been brought up from the cells and into the dock here at Colchester Magistrates’ Court.

Wearing a grey sweater, he confirms his identity before taking a seat behind the large, secure glass panels he is being held in.