Travis 'gave me 40 years of hell'

A woman told a court she has gone though "40 years of hell" after allegedly being assaulted by veteran DJ Dave Lee Travis when she was a 19-year-old deputy carnival princess.

The woman told London's Southwark Crown Court that Travis, now 68, put his hand up her skirt and touched her breast while they were alone at the opening of a hospital radio station in 1973.

The witness, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said Travis had a "haunting look" on his face as he touched her and she felt "frightened" and "ashamed" so avoided watching the former Top Of The Pops presenter on the TV again.

Breaking down in tears, she said her ordeal had an effect on her love life with her late husband, who would never know why.

"When he put his arms around me, I'd freeze," she said.

The woman, who said she was brought up a strict Catholic, said the incident left her too scared to go out on her own.

She said of Travis: "He screwed a lot of my life up."

The former BBC presenter, who is on trial under his real name, David Patrick Griffin, denies 13 indecent assaults and one sexual assault, dating back to 1976 and the height of his fame.

Dressed in a grey woollen blazer and maroon shirt and tie, he listened to the proceedings from the dock with the aid of headphones.

The woman, who gave evidence from behind a screen, told jurors she was being escorted through the hospital by Travis when he put his arm around her waist, which she did not feel comfortable with.

She said she shoved it away but "didn't dare say anything".

The witness, who said she was wearing a long wraparound skirt, told jurors they then walked down a dark, deserted corridor.

"He then put his hand on my thigh and in my skirt and touched my inner thigh and held it there quite firmly," she said.

"I didn't say a word, I was too frightened. He put his hand around my waist again and I think I went quite stiff and he put his hand up towards my

boob."

She added that the fact that nobody else was around was "terrifying", and although Travis did not say anything either, he had a "nasty" look on his face.

A "haunting look, it was a weird look," she added.

The woman said that afterwards she tried to "bury it inside" but everything came back when she saw news coverage of Travis's arrest.

"I just went mental indoors. I actually wanted to punch the television," she said.

Prosecutor Miranda Moore QC told jurors that the woman's evidence did not relate to any specific charge against Travis.

The woman's partner also took to the witness box and told the court she "cries her heart out" whenever Travis is mentioned.

The trial was adjourned until tomorrow.