A MAN dragged a woman to a bench where she thought she was going to be raped in a Hampshire park.

Jeremy Blake Simmons grabbed his victim from behind before kicking her in the face during an attack in Leigh Road Park, Eastleigh a court heard.

The 20-year-old told police during an interview he kicked her in an attempt to "stop her from screaming".

Simmons claimed he had been trying to rob the 19-year-old woman.

However, he "did not manage to take anything" because the police arrived.

During a trial at Southampton Crown Court this week, prosecution barrister, Rob Bryan read out extracts from Simmons' police interview.

Simmons said: "I told her I was going to rob her."

"I said to her I have got a gun."

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, a CCTV operator alerted police to the incident which happened during the early hours of August 4 last year, and Simmons was arrested at the scene.

He previously pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing actual bodily harm, one count of threats to kill and one count of kidnap.

He also pleaded guilty to a separate incident of robbery, in East Park, Southampton in the early hours of Saturday 1 August 2020.

Following a three-day trial at Southampton Crown Court, Simmons, of no fixed abode, was also found guilty of kidnap with intent to commit a sexual offence.

He was remanded in custody and is due to appear at the same court on April 26 for sentencing.