A PAINTER and decorator wore women's underwear when he sexually abused a young boy three decades ago, a jury at Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday (Monday).

Derrick Hooley, 69, dressed up in silk knickers, a bra and a basque and told the child: "Don't tell your mum," when he committed indecent acts on him, it is alleged.

Hooley, of Main Street, Farnhill, denies 17 sexual offences said to have taken place against the boy and a girl in Skipton in the mid to late 1980s.

He is accused of 12 offences of indecent assault and indecency with a child, relating to the boy, and five charges involving the girl, including indecent assault, indecency with a child, and an allegation of taking an indecent photo of her.

Prosecutor Christine Egerton told the jury yesterday that the male complainant, in his late thirties, went to the police with allegations of sexual abuse in 2013.

Miss Egerton said Hooley told the police it was all untrue.

Cross-examined by Robin Frieze, for the defence, the man denied inventing the allegations.

Asked why he did not come forward until 2013, he said he was motivated by the Jimmy Savile inquiry.

"A male being abused isn't something you want to shout from the rooftops," he said.

"I hid from it. I was embarrassed. I'm not now."

The trial continues.