A SEX attacker hid in the attic before climbing down to try to rape a woman as she slept, a court has heard.

Vivian Nightingale, aged 57, of Newbridge, is accused of hiding in the woman’s home and waiting for her to fall asleep before climbing down.

The woman had been out with friends before returning to her home in the early hours, and told a jury how she had no idea he was in the attic.

A court heard she noticed a vase had been knocked over but thought one of her cats was responsible.

She went to bed at about 1.15am, but awoke to feel a hand from behind grab her neck, the court heard.

She told Cardiff Crown Court: “I felt him press his head against the side of my face, and he told me: ‘I want sex and I’m going to have it’.”

“I just froze. I was too scared to move.

“Then he started putting his hand down my pyjama bottoms.

“He wrapped one of his legs around my leg and moved his hand to try and put it down my top.

“I tried to pull his hand away and shouted: ‘What the **** do you think you’re doing?’.”

“I started to cry and managed to turn around and push him away. I leaned over to my lamp and flicked it on and saw he had no clothes on and was fully naked.

“I was frightened and felt vulnerable. There were a lot of things going through my head. I didn’t know if it was real or not. I asked him how he got in my house but he said it was none of my business.

“He was really calm. He wasn’t erratic or anything.”

The woman managed to escape and rang her daughter for help after the alleged attack in March this year.

The police were called the next day and Nightingale was arrested and charged with trespassing with intent to commit a sexual offence and sexual assault. He denies both charges.

Prosecutor Suzanne Thomas said it was a “terrifying ordeal” for the woman, who cannot be identified.

Nightingale, of Victoria Terrace, Newbridge, near Caerphilly, claims he was invited into the house by the woman, and denies trying to assault her.

The trial continues.