A 36-year-old man who admits indecently touching a young girl when he was a teenager said he felt “awful and disgusted with himself”.

But Paul Morrow told police his victim lied about the extent of the abuse, making it out to be far more serious than it was.

“It is bad enough already. Why is she making it ten times worse?” he asked during an interview with officers.

Morrow admits three offences of sexual assault, but is on trial at Bradford Crown Court denying 14 charges of indecent assault and one of attempted rape in Shipley in the 1990s.

The allegations involve his victim and another younger girl, now also a grown woman.

The jury has been told that Morrow, of Longroyd Crescent, Huddersfield, used his hands as finger puppets that “wanted to play” the first time he abused the older girl.

She told the police she was abused for about six years when she reported the matter to the police in 2012. The younger girl said Morrow was drunk when he indecently assaulted her.

Morrow told the police he fell in love with the older girl when he was 14. He was depressed and having problems at school and believed she was his girlfriend.

He kissed her and touched her inappropriately, but his behaviour stopped well short of what she was accusing him of doing.

Morrow said the abuse went on for about two years and stopped when he was 16. He said he did not touch the younger girl at all.

The court heard yesterday that Morrow attended the police station voluntarily to give his side of the story. He was of good character and offered to take a lie detector to prove his version of events.

The trial continues.