THE custodian of a famous house and beauty spot near Stourport took naked pictures of a young girl and sexually abused her at the back of the ticket office, a jury has been told.

Steven Yates, now 60, groomed the girl from the age of 12 and made her think he was her boyfriend when he was employed at Witley Court, in Great Witley, in the early 1990s, Worcester Crown Court heard.

He told her to get undressed and how to pose before taking naked pictures of her on a Polaroid camera which printed them instantly, the jury heard.

On one occasion, he took indecent images of her before numbering the pictures and putting them in an envelope, the court heard.

Yates, of the Old Forge, in Tenbury Wells, denies four specimen counts of taking indecent photographs of a child between October 1991, when he started work at the English Heritage property, and April 1995, when he resigned.

He also denies four counts of indecent assault, between the same dates.

Rebecca Wade, prosecuting, told the jury that Yates was aged 36 when he started work as the custodian of the property and the girl was aged 12. Despite the 24-year age difference, she started to think of him as her boyfriend.

Miss Wade said: “He held her hand and told her she was beautiful.

“She was enamoured with him and enjoyed the attention he gave her.”

Yates then went on to taking the photographs and to the sexual assault, Miss Wade said.

There was a cabin or hut where tickets were sold, which had a small separate office. He would close the door and put a board against the window, the jury heard.

He sexually assaulted her in the office. He had also taken her to another area of the ruined building, near the old conservatory, and pulled the shutters across to conceal them before sexually assaulting her.

When the girl was 15, Yates told her his wife was pregnant. The girl told an adult what had been happening. Yates later quit his job and left, Miss Wade said, but no further complaint was made.

Miss Wade added: “She felt a kind of misplaced loyalty towards him despite what he had done to her being so wrong.”

The abuse had a profound effect on her life and she had sought counselling. In 2014, she read a newspaper story of his conviction for downloading child porn on his work computer and decided to tell police what had happened, Miss Wade said.

Yates denies that the offences ever took place. He told police he could not think of any reason why she should now come forward with the allegations.

The trial continues.