Author in court over sex attacks

Children's author William Mayne raped one girl and indecently assaulted others who were fascinated by his writing, a jury heard today.

Mayne - well known for his books about the legend of King Arthur - allegedly befriended the girls' families before carrying out attacks throughout the Sixties and early Seventies. A jury at Teesside Crown Court was told how Mayne, now 76, gave his victims nicknames and even included them in his writings.

Mayne, who has a London flat as well as homes in Thornton Rust and Ripon, North Yorkshire, is a prolific author and has published more than 100 books. He is also a writer for the BBC.

He was already well-known at the time the assaults are claimed to have taken place - winning the Carnegie Medal in 1957 for A Grass Rope. He wrote the much-praised Patchwork Cat in 1981 and won the Guardian Award for Children's Fiction in 1993 for Low Tide.

The court heard how between July 1960 and May 1975, he preyed on young girls aged between six and 16.

Richard Mansel, prosecuting, told how

Mayne had "something of an open-house arrangement, where youngsters were allowed free run of his home".

Children were "fascinated" and "inspired" by him and he would take them on trips and days out in his Bentley car. But it is claimed he abused their trust and raped one girl when she was aged between eight and 13.

It is alleged this was part of systematic abuse over several years.

More victims came forward after the woman contacted police in 1999, saying she felt "dirty and ashamed" at what Mayne had done.

Mayne, who told police the claims were "total fabrication", denies two charges of rape against a female under 13 and 13 counts of indecent assault against seven other children.

The trial continues.