Man on trial for rape that saw Andy Malkinson wrongfully jailed

A man has gone on trial accused of raping a woman in 2003 in an attack prosecutors say resulted in the wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson.

Paul Quinn, 51, has pleaded not guilty to rape, strangulation and inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent and is facing a jury at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.

Prosecutors say the victim was stalked towards the M61 motorway in Little Hulton, Salford, before being seized and dragged into secluded bushes, where she was raped, choked and beaten unconscious.

John Price KC, prosecuting, told jurors that Malkinson had been "the victim of a most terrible miscarriage of justice, one of the worst there has been".

Price said it was a "very sad fact" that the descriptions of the alleged attacker "appeared to tally" with the apperances of both Quinn and Malkinson, who spent 17 years in prison.

However, he told jurors DNA evidence from the victim's clothing and body had been linked to Quinn.

Price said that there was "no plausible explanation" for how Quinn's DNA had been recovered at the scene other than if he was the attacker.

The jury heard that at about 05.30 BST on 17 July that year, a man walking his dog found an extremely distressed woman staggering along the pavement.

The woman, who is legally entitled to anonymity, said she had been raped after being followed, snatched and dragged down a wooded bank by a motorway bridge.

She reported losing consciousness and later waking up to realise she had been attacked.

Price said the woman had been "subjected to sexual violence of the gravest kind".

The jury were shown a photograph taken at the time that showed extensive bruising to the victim's face, with one eye swollen shut, and damage to a cheekbone which needed surgery.

The victim described the attacker to police as "white, olive skinned and tanned", a "muscular build" and "a shiny, hairless chest", Price said.