A police doctor drugged two young girls with spiked Angel Delight and filmed himself sexually abusing them, a court heard.

Forensic medical examiner Dr Robert Wells, 52, convinced a family friend to allow her daughters, aged 11 and five, to sleep at his flat after a day out at the zoo.

The mother had known him for ten years and when he told her his girlfriend and daughter would be there too, she agreed to let them stay.

But the following day she took the girls to hospital when the elder sister seemed "spaced out", Winchester Crown Court heard.

Stephen Parish, prosecuting, said blood samples taken from both girls contained traces of prescription tranquillisers.

He said the drugs would have knocked the children out and caused memory loss.

When interviewed by police, the 11-year-old said she had been given a spoonful of "white stuff" and Angel Delight but could not remember much else.

The five-year-old was too young to give an accurate account of the evening.

The court heard Wells was then arrested and charged as officers raided his homes in Brighton and Southampton.

On the first day of his trial, Wells, of Hangleton Road, Hove, was described as a "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" character who gave the appearance of being a friendly uncle but was, in fact, a serial paedophile.

He is also accused of befriending the parent of a third young girl whom he raped.

The court was told Wells was a police surgeon working in the Southampton and Winchester areas of Hampshire.

He also had a private practice in Brighton, where he lived, but he had a flat in Southampton where most of the attacks are alleged to have taken place.

Mr Parish said Wells indecently assaulted the two sisters after their mother let them stay at the Southampton flat on February 25 last year.

After a trip to Marwell Zoo, near Winchester, the mother let the girls stay alone with Wells who later told them his girlfriend and daughter could not make it after all.

After his arrest, police found notes at the Southampton address, which the prosecution alleges was a timetable for drugging and abusing the two sisters.

One piece of paper gave times for picking them up from the train station and going to the zoo while another gave times and the words "Angel Delight" and "Viagra".

A seized computer showed a movie file had been created and deleted in the early hours of February 26. Deleted files with the name of the 11-year-old were also found.

Detectives then spoke to another 11-year-old daughter of another of the defendant's friends from Brighton, who alleged Wells had attacked her repeatedly during 2002 and early 2003.

Mr Parish said an examination found the girl had been raped.

Police raiding the Southampton flat found a contraption of covered polystyrene on a wooden board with red straps.

The girl said this was called Satan's Pillow, on which Wells had raped her several times.

Police found several computers at his Brighton home and a movie of the 11-year-old girl being assaulted in a camper van.

Other images involving her were found on Wells' computers, along with child pornography and evidence of him accessing paedophile internet newsgroups.

Mr Parish said this supported the evidence of the children and pointed to Wells as a serial abuser.

He said: "The allegations against Dr Wells are about as serious as could be made against a doctor.

"This man, who appears to be a good and caring doctor, is a rapist and a serial paedophile.

"Dr Wells befriended the parents and children and gave the appearance of a kind and generous uncle.

"But appearances were deceptive. He was, to coin a phrase, a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde."

Wells denies three counts of rape, five counts of indecent assault, two counts of administering drugs and one count of making an indecent image of a child.

The trial is expected to last four weeks.