JURORS have acquitted a Winchester Hotel du Vin worker accused of attacking a young woman in his bedsit.

Carlos Silva was cleared of one charge of rape, said to have taken place on September 21, 2013, following a five-day trial at the city’s crown court.

His alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed the 48-year-old had targeted her after she left friends to visit a kebab shop near the Theatre Royal and he led her back to his flat.

Mr Silva consistently denied the charge, saying the woman initiated the encounter and, whilst drunk, was not overly affected by alcohol.

“The sexual act was her initiative. I wasn’t interested in having sex with anyone. She unbuttoned my shirt and jeans,” he added.

Giving evidence last week, the woman said Mr Silva had sat down next to her as she ate a burger, striking up a conversation that made her feel uncomfortable.

She said that when she rose to leave he propelled her along the pavement by the waist back to his flat.

The court heard how she rang a female friend as they walked, leaving a message that she should come and find her, and texted the word "help" to her boyfriend just before the rape.

She said she wept during the attack: “In my head I was panicking, but didn't want to do anything to annoy him. I freaked out and closed my eyes. I was scared."

She said she eventually managed to wriggle away from Mr Silva, whom she had not met before, and flee back onto the street.

But Mr Silva said he was walking back to his City Road bedsit following a shift at the Hotel du Vin in Southgate Street when he crossed Jewry Street to where the woman was sitting eating a burger on a doorstep.

He said he was tired and wanted somewhere to sit down.

“I wanted to relax a little bit and freshen up. I was tired and stressed, to sit down, relax, smoke and take fresh air on my head. I wanted to relieve pressure from my work,” he said.

Mr Silva said the woman started the conversation. “I didn’t want to be rude to a person who wanted to talk to me.”