A transvestite has been cleared of raping a transsexual at her Worcester flat after a "girlie night out" in a city pub.

Barry Dearlove, known as Christina, often travelled to the city to attend "Blush Nights" for the transgender community at the Brewery Tap in Lowesmoor.

The prosecution had alleged that on May 1, 2011, he went back to the victim's flat and attacked her in the bathroom while her partner was ill in another room.

But a jury at Worcester Crown Court found Mr Dearlove not guilty of rape after deliberating for seven hours over two days.

They also cleared him of an alternative charge of assault by penetration.

After the verdicts, the 32-year-old from South Park Avenue, Didcot, Oxfordshire, rushed from the courtroom in an emotional state.

The court heard that the complainant was born a man but had changed to a female identity and was awaiting a gender change operation.

She told police that Mr Dearlove kissed her passionately before forcibly having sex against her will.

She complained to a Worcester doctor who advised her to contact the police.

But in evidence, Mr Dearlove said only kissing and cuddling took place before he went to bed. He was tired and wanted to sleep.

When he later got a text message from the complainant saying "I forgive you for the other evening", he believed it only referred to their bedtime clinch. He was arrested in June 2011 at his home.

He insisted the Blush Night had been a normal "bubbly, giggly night out" where he drank alcohol but did not get drunk.

Mr Dearlove said he came out as a transvestite in 2004 and had met similar people from Worcester during nights out in London.

He made frequent visits to the city because he was involved in organising a "big bash" in Manchester.