A MAN has been acquitted of rape and sexual activity with a child after a trial at Reading Crown Court.

David Birmingham, 47, of Mayfair in Tilehurst, was accused of one count of rape, one count of assault by penetration and two counts of sexual activity with a child – all alleged to have happened on August 25, 2018.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police Birmingham had allegedly assaulted her in woodlands in Woodley after ‘bribing and tricking’ her.

READ MORE: Man denies 'tricking' child into woodlands and raping her, a court has heard

However, a jury acquitted Mr Birmingham on Thursday (June 15) of all four charges after a two-week trial.

Mr Birmingham’s defence case was that the allegations were all fabricated and ‘simply a lie’.