A man accused of raping a businesswoman in a room in a seafront hotel told a jury he thought she was a prostitute.

William Steward said he believed she may later have pressed charges because he told her she was no good in bed.

Steward, 24, of no fixed address, has denied four charges of rape at a trial at Lewes Crown Court.

He is accused of forcing his way into the 25-year-old woman's sixth-floor room at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, in King's Road, Brighton, at 4am on November 8 last year.

The woman, an IT consultant from London, has told the court how he threatened to kill her during a two-hour ordeal in the £75-a-night room.

But Steward, giving evidence on the fifth day of the trial yesterday, said he had met her earlier in the street and when he chatted her up she told him she was a prostitute and they arranged to meet later. He said he went to her room and she consented to sex.

The jury heard Steward, an unemployed window cleaner, had a criminal history dating back to when he was 15 and had previously served time for robbery, false imprisonment and wounding.

He had been released from jail after serving a sentence for driving offences when he was arrested for the alleged sex attack.

At the time he was still wearing an electronic tag round his ankle and a blue and white striped prison-issue shirt.

Steward told the court he had got on well with the woman and described being on the same "wavelength."

He said he did not pay her afterwards and she did not mention cash to him.

He said he did not know why she was now accusing him of rape but added: "I said a bad thing. I said it was bad sex."

During cross-examination he denied telling lies and changing his story.

Richard Cherrill, prosecuting, said to him: "You have no idea what the truth is, even if it hit you in the face.

"You invented a series of lies. The simple truth is you terrified and threatened her so you could have sex with her."

The trial continues.