A MAN repeatedly fondled a young girl's chest and once threatened to take her toys away if she did not kiss him, a court heard.

Donald McWilliams, aged 63, from Droitwich, bought the girl and her cousins presents including bikes, shoes, toys and a trampoline, and would occasionally take the children on overnight stays at bed and breakfasts, the jury at Worcester Crown Court was told.

McWilliams, of Vines Mews, Droitwich, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexually assaulting the girl between February 2010 and May 2012, when she was aged eight or nine.

The girl, now aged 11, claims on several occasions he put his hand up her top and stroked her chest, before rubbing her leg.

Giving evidence via video link, the child said on one occasion, he asked for a kiss on the cheek, and when she turned away he said he would take away the presents he gave her unless she kissed him.

The case came to light after police officers and social services workers visited the girl's school to talk about abuse, and she confided in her mother at the end of the day.

When asked why she did not say anything to anybody sooner, the girl replied: "I was scared what they would say and what Don would say, and what he would do to me."

The girl's grandmother took to the stand to give evidence, and said she had trusted McWilliams, describing him as "playful", and "like a grown-up kid".

However, she told the court she had fallen out with him several times when he collected the children from school without telling anybody.

Prosecutor Gerard Quirke read out police interviews to the jury, in which they questioned McWilliams about pictures he had taken of the girl and her cousins.

He told officers he was a photographer and liked to take pictures of the children playing or when they were on days out, which he said he felt the children would treasure when they were older.

There was one picture where she appeared to be topless in bed, smiling, but he said the blanket covered her almost competely and he was taking the picture as her first front tooth had just fallen out.

The jury heard he said he had "never touched" the girl's bare skin, and told officers he "detested" paedophiles.

The trial continues.