A school employee accused of sexually assaulting a girl pupil re-arranged her hair, a jury heard.

A classmate told police, in a video interview played to Bradford Crown Court yesterday, that her friend had her hair in a plait, but Rajnikant Mistry, 57, told her she would look better with it down. The girl said: “He got her hair and pulled it down her chest.”

She also told police Mistry had asked to see the girl’s birthday presents and looked at them even though she did not want him to.

On another occasion he had run after her and grabbed her to give her some pens, the friend claimed.

“She didn’t know what to do, she was scared,” the girl told police.

Mistry, of Hunters Park Avenue, Clayton, Bradford, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of sexually assaulting a child under 13.

Prosecutor Richard Gioserano has alleged Mistry had an interest in the girl, who cannot be named, and behaved unusually towards her.

He said that on two occasions his behaviour was sexual, once on December 19, 2008, and once between October and December 19, 2008.

The girl told a teacher of her concerns, and another teacher was asked to speak to him. The teacher, who saw the girl before speaking to Mistry, told the court: “She was very upset. I stopped and asked what the problem was, one of her friends spoke and said, ‘There’s a man who’s frightening her’.”

The teacher said the girl told him about Mistry’s behaviour, but did not say he had touched her.

He said: “I said to her,.. he was probably just trying to be friendly.”

The teacher said Mistry was, “quite appalled his actions had led to that degree of upset”.