A man on trial for rape broke down in court as he retold finding one of his alleged victims dead in a pool of her own blood.

Stephen Edwards wept in the witness box as he told a jury how he discovered naked Pauline Jenkins, 46, the morning after they had sex at her Woodingdean home.

The prosecution argues the mother-of-three had so much alcohol in her system on February 5, 2011, that she would have been incapable of giving consent.

Edwards, of Merevale, Brighton, is also on trial for the rape of another woman – who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Taking the stand, he told Hove Crown Court he met Mrs Jenkins at a soul music night at the Hove Greyhound Stadium in 2009.

After a brief sexual relationship he lost touch with her until messaging her on the website Plenty of Fish in 2011.

He told how they arranged to meet up to watch the Wales versus England rugby match on February 5 at her Rosebery Avenue home.

After a number of drinks, he claims they had consensual sex and he fell asleep afterwards.

The court previously heard Mrs Jenkins died from alcohol poisoning.

Wiping tears from his face, he described finding Pauline Jenkins in the same position as the night before in a pool of blood.

Asked what his reaction was, he said: “I panicked. I went to my phone and called the ambulance.

“I called her name and said ‘wake up, wake up’. I tried to shake her but she was cold. I told them to hurry up (the paramedics) but I knew she was dead.”

Wearing blue jeans, black shoes and a Kangol jumper, he told the jury he also met the second woman on the internet.

He described having consensual sex on a number of occasions in 2010. He requested a threesome only to become angry and abusive after it fell through.

The jury heard that he raped her on the evening of the scheduled threesome. However, he claimed the sex had been consensual.

Edwards denies both counts of rape.

The trial continues.