A man indecently assaulted a six-year-old girl and tried to rape her, telling her it was their 'little secret', a court heard.

William Callow, 71, of Wise Avenue, Kidlington, denies three charges of indecently assaulting a girl under the age of eight, one of attempted rape and another of inciting a child under 14 to commit an act of gross indecency.

Nigel Daly, prosecuting, told Oxford Crown Court yesterday that the alleged offences took place between January 1988 and January 1990 when the girl was between six and eight.

The alleged victim, now 19, told the court: "He told me not to tell anyone because it was our little secret. I was scared to tell anyone because he told me not to."

She said in later life she could not concentrate on schoolwork and would scratch herself and rub her face with a toothbrush because she felt ashamed and dirty. She said she had got drunk and went to his house demanding to speak to him. She was arrested and later made the allegations.

The case continues.