The jury in the trial of a man accused of breaking into a woman's Carlisle home and trying to rape her has retired to consider its verdict.

John-Paul McCann, 32, has pleaded not guilty to a total of five charges. These include two attempted rapes, a sexual assault and a burglary.

All of the incidents involve the same victim, and are said to have occurred in the early hours of March 13.

The woman had previously told the jury how her attacker laughed as he tried to rape her.

On day three of the trial yesterday, McCann went into the witness box and gave evidence to the jury of seven men and five women.

McCann, a father-of-two and furniture maker, said he had been out in Carlisle earlier on the night in question.

He had attended a wrestling event, drunk cider and spirit shots, and admitted: “I had quite a lot to drink – I had been out since half six.”

Answering questions from his lawyer Keith Thomas, McCann gave his version of what happened during the early hours of the morning.

He vehemently denied an allegation that he had broken into the woman’s house and stolen an iPad from inside the property.

Asked whether he had committed any of the offences, McCann replied: “No.”

Following his arrest in March, McCann, of Crookburn Close, Lowry Hill, Carlisle, was interviewed twice by police.

Jurors today heard details of his second interview, during which the allegations were put to him.

“I am 100 per cent honest, I have not raped this girl. It is a very distressing thing to be charged with,” he told the two officers present.

“I can guarantee that stuff hasn’t happened.”

McCann was also asked whether he was responsible for causing injuries the woman says she suffered.

She claimed to have been left “aching all over”, bruised and with marks on her arms.

But, answering the question, McCann said: “No. Not at all.”

Having heard all the evidence in the case - along with closing speeches by lawyers and a summing up by Judge Peter Hughes QC - the jury retired to consider its verdict this afternoon.