Bob Higgins trial: Teen bought car 'to escape sex abuse'

Ex-Saints youth coach Bob Higgins is accused of multiple counts of indecent assault against boys

A 15-year-old boy bought a car and drove hundreds of miles to get away from a football coach who abused him, a court has heard.

The complainant said Bob Higgins, 65, molested him during "soapy massages" at Southampton FC.

In a police interview played to jurors, the alleged victim said Mr Higgins warned he would "never play again" if he told his parents of the abuse.

Mr Higgins denies 50 counts of indecent assault against boys from 1971 to 1996.

Jurors at Salisbury Crown Court heard the man, described as complainant L, tell police that Mr Higgins had pressed his genitals against him and told boys that soapy massages were the norm before and after practice.

The man said Mr Higgins had also touched his genitals and rubbed against him.

"He didn't say anything afterwards," he said.

"Thirty seconds afterwards, I just went and got showered - and went to my room and cried."

The court heard that Mr Higgins had also inappropriately touched complainant L while he was given lifts in his car.

He told officers: "Everything he was doing - it just didn't stop. It was just constant.

"The only way to get away was through my own devices."

He described how, after a sum of money was accidentally put into his bank account, he bought the car from a local dealership and set off for his home.

He said: "It was starting to get dark when I bought the car.

"It was about the same time the next day, starting to get dark again, when I arrived [home]."

The man said he then quit Southampton FC.

Bob Higgins was a youth coach at Southampton

The charges against Mr Higgins were brought after the NSPCC set up a helpline to deal with sexual abuse in football, the jury has previously been told.

Mr Higgins, 65, from Southampton, is accused of abusing 23 other teenage boys.

The trial continues.