A woman who was allegedly raped by a man in an Ipswich flat has told a court she agreed to be his girlfriend because she was 'scared and wanted to keep him happy'.

During cross-examination at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday, the witness, who can not be named for legal reasons, was asked about an audio recording from her phone, in which the defendant, Dekan Saed, said he wanted her to be his girlfriend.

The conversation took place at Saed's flat in Portman Road, where the pair had gone after a night out and happened after sexual intercourse had taken place.

The witness was heard to reply that they should be together for a while before becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.

However, when defence counsel Lynne Shirley asked her to confirm she made the comments, she replied: "I can't remember, but if I did, it was probably to keep him happy at this point.

"I was scared he was going to keep going."

She was subsequently asked if she had sex with the defendant and regretted it afterwards, to which she replied: "I had unconsensual sex and I hated it."

Saed is accused of repeatedly raping, falsely imprisoning and strangling the woman during the early hours of Sunday, November 13.

Saed denies four counts of rape and false imprisonment and non-fatal strangulation.

Earlier in the trial, Richard Kelly, prosecuting, said the pair had previously messaged each other in a 'normal, non-sexual way' on social media channel Snapchat and met for the first time when the 22-year-old woman had gone drinking with friends in Ipswich.

Mr Kelly said at some point in the evening they began messaging each other and Saed asked if she wanted to 'come and say hi' to him, but she said she needed to arrange a lift so he offered to drive her back for free.

They eventually met up in the Buttermarket area, where Saed was with a friend, who helped to translate what the witness was saying as Saed's English was not very good.

The trio then visited a nearby shop where Saed and his friend bought the woman a vape, alcohol and cigarettes before they got into the defendant's VW Golf, with the witness asking if they were going to drive her to her home.

However, Saed said he needed to return to his address 'quickly' and while they were there he gave her cocaine, which she took, before she was allegedly violently and repeatedly raped.

A subsequent medical examination revealed she had sustained injuries to her neck, breast and genitalia, while the defendant's semen was found when the witness was swabbed.

Mr Kelly said: "The prosecution case is that this defendant, Dekan Saed, subjected the woman to a grotesque sexual ordeal in which he would not let her leave his flat."

The trial continues.