A TAXI driver accused of sexually assaulting a passenger told jurors he was driving a different car and did not know enough English to converse with the woman.

Choudry Saleem is alleged to have rubbed the woman’s thigh and told her “young girls should not go out getting drunk, they never know what could happen to them”.

But giving evidence at Oxford Crown Court yesterday, the 40-year-old disputed the woman’s version of events.

Speaking through an Urdu interpreter, he said he was unable to have English conversations with passengers other than understanding place names and fare details.

Jurors previously heard the woman describe the car as a five-seat saloon, but Saleem said he had only driven a Fiat people carrier for more than a year before the alleged attack in Wallingford on December 5, 2009.

He also said he did not own a grey jumper, which the woman said he was wearing, and denied touching her leg.

Asked whether he told the woman she should not go out and get drunk, he replied: “No, I’ve never said that to anyone.”

Kevin West, prosecuting, said Saleem’s Hackney Carriage licence, dated June 2009, was for a Peugeot 406 — a five-door saloon — and was not transferable.

Saleem, from High Wycombe, said he had owned the 406 but had not driven it since 2008 and did not know why his licence was for that vehicle.

The trial continues.