A PUB landlord has been cleared of raping and sexually abusing a young woman at his village inn.

Kevan Lawson, 59, told Bradford Crown Court the 20-year-old consented to sex acts with him after he got into bed naked with her at the Old Swan Inn on High Street, Gargrave.

Mr Lawson was today acquitted in under three hours by the jury of one allegation of oral rape and three charges of sexual assault, all on the same date, in August 2013.

The woman told the court he forced her to engage in sexual activity in a bedroom at the pub.

But Mr Lawson, who exchanged sexually suggestive texts with her in the days before he was accused of assaulting her, said she was "all smiles" when she left his pub late that night.

He said they took part in consensual sexual activity before he went into his lounge at the pub to watch television.

He said the woman had downed pints of lager in the bar before going up to her room.

Lawson said he joined her in his dressing gown to see if she wanted to have sex with him.

He asked her if she wanted a cuddle and she replied "yes" and she did not object when he climbed into bed with her.

There was no conversation between them and she did not say "no" at any stage.

He never used any force and she was quite happy, said Mr Lawson.

"It was a hundred per cent with her consent," he told the jury from the witness box.

"If she had said "no" I would have got up and walked away without any problem."

He then went to watch the television and she left the pub soon afterwards "all smiles and talking normally".

Lawson told how he was woken by the police "storming" into his bedroom later that night and shining torches in his face.

At first he thought it was a robbery as he had no idea what was going on, Mr Lawson told the court.