Gateshead councillor Paul Foy 'groped and fondled' woman in lift

Paul Foy said the allegations against him were "untrue" and "malicious"

A councillor "groped" a woman in a lift and told her he wanted to "lie" with her, a court has heard.

Paul Foy "fondled" the woman in a lift in a Manchester hotel after a housing conference in 2016, Newcastle Crown Court has been told.

The woman said she pushed Mr Foy away and told him he was married, but he replied: "I just want to lie with you."

Mr Foy, who represents Birtley for Labour on Gateshead Council, denies sexual assault.

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told police she and Mr Foy had been talking before they got into a lift at the hotel but it had all been professional with no hint of "attraction, flirtation or innuendo" between the two.

'Untrue and malicious'

But, she said, once the lift doors closed "it just changed like that".

The woman said Mr Foy, of the Avenue in Birtley, pushed her against the wall and tried to kiss her while groping her breast.

She said she managed to get out of the lift when the doors opened at her floor and then pushed Mr Foy away.

She then hid in a stairwell for what "felt like an eternity" before running to her room and phoning a colleague for help, the court heard.

The woman said she regretted not reporting the assault sooner but felt it would not be taken seriously and "it was not a rape".

My Foy's lawyers told jurors not only were the claims "untrue" but he regarded them as "malicious".

The trial continues.