A family man accused of sexual attacks on two women walking to work in Bradford told a jury of his shock when he was arrested for rape.

Supermarket worker Rehees Ali, 27, on trial at Bradford Crown Court, said he could not believe what the police were accusing him of.

Ali, a married man with two children, denies raping a shop assistant in Valley Road, Bradford, on November 13 last year and sexually assaulting an office worker in Midland Road, Manningham, Bradford, on August 18.

Ali, who worked the night shift at Morrisons in Thornbury, Bradford, finishing at 6am, told the jury three Stanley knives seized from the boot of his black Volkswagen Golf were provided by his employer for his job.

Ali, who was arrested at his home in Priestman Street, Manningham, on November 16, told the jury yesterday he was still half asleep and could not take in the allegations when he was being questioned.

“I was shocked and I could not believe what they were putting to me,” he said from the witness box.

He said an ongoing problem with his knee meant he needed surgery and it had left him unable to bend without pain.

Ali is accused of telling the shop assistant he had a knife and was going to kill her after pouncing in the dark street at about 6.20am. He is alleged to have put his hand over her mouth, forced her behind bushes and raped her.

He is said to have followed the first woman as she walked from Bradford Interchange to work at 6.50am. She accuses him of blocking her path, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her against a wall to sexually assault her.

Ali denies any knowledge of the alleged August attack, but has told the jury he had a consensual sexual encounter with the second woman after a chance meeting in the street.

The trial continues.