A SCHOOLGIRL who claims she had sex with a man on trial for raping her was "manipulative and very unconvincing" the jury was told yesterday.

Rodney Ferm, barrister for the defendant, Usaid Zeb, said watching her give evidence was "worse than drawing teeth".

Mr Ferm was making his closing speech to the jury in the trial of Zeb, 23, of Daisy Hill Lane, Daisy Hill, Bradford, who denies two allegations of raping the child when she was 12.

She is said to have sneaked out of her home in Bradford to meet Zeb late at night and to have had sex with him in his car down a country lane.

Zeb chose not to give evidence in his trial and prosecutor, David McGonigal, told the jury: "He hasn't given any answers because he can't give any answers."

Mr McGonigal conceded that the girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was "not an ideal witness" but he said it did not mean she was not being truthful.

Zeb is accused of having sex with her in the summer of 2012 when he was 20.

Although it is not alleged that he used force, she was too young to legally give consent so the charge is one of rape.

The authorities were alerted when the Asian girl suspected she might have a sexually transmitted disease, the court has heard.

She had a pregnancy test that proved negative and was taken home by her head of school year to discuss matters with her mother.

She at first claimed her boyfriend was about her own age and then said he was a 29-year-old drug dealer.

When she was 14, she gave the police Zeb's phone number and said she had sex with him twice in his car.

Mr Ferm said she told this to the police "in a very unconvincing way" late on in the enquiry.

"She is not a novice at manipulation, is she? And she tells people what she chooses to tell them," Mr Ferm said.

He said she had shown "inappropriate sexualised behaviour" at school, pulling down her trousers because she was attention seeking.

She claimed to have "drug dealer friends" and said she sneaked out at night to go with them in cars.

Mr Ferm said she was texting and phoning another man 100 times a day during the period she was said to be meeting Zeb.

Today, the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Roger Thomas QC, was due to sum up the case to the jury before it retires to consider its verdicts.

The trial continues.