A businesswoman told a jury how she was raped at a Sussex hotel by a man who forced his way into her room.

The 25-year-old IT consultant, who lives in London, says she was attacked while staying at the Hilton Metropole Hotel on Brighton seafront.

William Steward, 24, of no fixed address, has denied four charges of rape at a trial at Lewes Crown Court.

The woman told the jury her attacker had threatened to kill her during the harrowing two-hour ordeal.

She said she begged him not to rape her but he called her a prostitute and a "dirty bitch".

She said: "I was absolutely terrified."

The court heard the woman was staying on the sixth floor of the hotel during a business trip in November last year when she was woken at about 4am by banging on her door.

She got up to investigate and found a man lying on the floor outside the door. He told her he was looking for a friend but when she tried to close the door he lunged into her room.

The woman said: "I just remember this high-pitched scream coming out of my mouth.

"He had his hand over my mouth and told me to stop screaming or he would kill me. He said he was going to blow my head off with a gun."

She said his behaviour was erratic and she suspected he had taken drugs. He became obsessed with finding a light for his cigarette and unsuccessfully tried to light it from the kettle element and a trouser press.

The court heard the woman had tried to remain calm so she could plan how she was going to escape. She said: "I knew if I didn't make a bid for freedom I was in trouble."

She tried to call for help on the phone but he tore it apart.

When she got the chance she ran to reach the door but the lock was difficult to open and he grabbed hold of her and became so angry she feared he was going to strangle her, the court heard.

She said: "I really thought he was going to kill me there and then. I didn't want to have sex with him.

"I didn't want him in my room. I had tried to go for help. I thought he was going to kill me."

After he raped her she managed to persuade him to go with her to the hotel reception where he could get a light for his cigarette.

Once they reached the reception she pretended she would not tell the police and after she gave him £10 for cigarettes and a taxi he walked away.

She immediately alerted staff and a description was circulated.

During a later interview with detectives, Steward said the woman was a prostitute he had met earlier that night in West Street.

He said she had written down her room number and he went there later for sex.

He told police they had consensual sex but he had lost £50 and could not pay her and she became annoyed.

The trial continues.