Laura 'died after tie-up game'

Bainbridge denies raping and killing Laura

A man has told a jury how he found nine-year-old schoolgirl Laura Kane lying dead on the floor after she persuaded him to tie her up during a game at his home.

Trusted family friend Colin Bainbridge said he "reluctantly" agreed to the game of "tie-up", binding Laura's hands and feet with insulation tape - and gagging her with a crepe bandage.

But when he left the room for a few minutes at his home in Murton, County Durham, he returned to find her dead, he told Newcastle Crown Court.

Colin Bainbridge was a friend of Laura's family

Bainbridge, 35, denies raping and killing Laura on August 25 last year. Her disappearance sparked a huge police search around her home in Penshaw near Sunderland, the jury has been told.

Her body was found 10 days later under the floorboards at Bainbridge's council home.

Giving evidence for the first time in his defence on , Bainbridge described how he had taken Laura back to his house after she had asked to see his baby son.

But his son was with his mother elsewhere.

Bainbridge told the jury Laura had wanted to play a game of "tie-up" shortly after arriving at the house.

Gagged

He told the court he had agreed to her wishes reluctantly.

Bainbridge said: "I didn't agree at first but I gave in. I tied her up with insulation tape so that she would escape.

"I tied her round her feet and hands; I used insulation tape because it was already in my pocket. There wasn't anything around her face at that point.

Laura Kane's body was discovered under floorboards

"She wanted to be gagged like we do at her mum's house. I used crepe bandage."

The jury had already heard how Bainbridge would play "tie-up" and other games with Laura and other children, sometimes in front of her mother.

He told the jury after tying her up he left the sitting room to feed his dog in the kitchen.

He returned 15 minutes later, he said, to discover Laura dead in front of the settee on the floor.

Bainbridge said: "She was lying on the floor. Her hands were free but her legs were still tied.

"The gag was over her mouth and tangled in her hair."

David Robson QC, defending, asked: "Was she trying to do anything?"

Bainbridge replied: "She was dead."

The case continues.