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A woman has denied grabbing the bottom of a drag queen in a Bristol nightclub claiming to have been interested in the material of his outfit.

Jayde Clowting has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and common assault and her trial began on Monday, September 16 at Bristol Crown Court.

She is being tried for her alleged role in a fight which happened after the alleged sexual incident but claims she only began throwing punches when the complainant pulled her hair.

The alleged incident happened on Saturday, December 15 , 2018 when both parties had been in the Queenshilling nightclub on Frogmore Street in the city centre.

The complainant and his boyfriend at the time along with a group of their friends had gone to the pub at around 12am during a night out in Bristol.

He and his boyfriend were dressed in drag wearing what prosecutor Mrs Emma Martin described as "eye-catching outfits".

In the bar the complainant and his boyfriend returned from the toilet and while making their way onto the dancefloor the complainant says Clowting grabbed at the bottom of the complainant.

He said he shouted "Don't touch me" at the defendant but had to hit her hand away when she went to grab his bottom again.

It was shortly after this alleged incident that a fight broke out on the dancefloor, a fight which was started when Clowting's friend Lana Stancer - known as LJ - palmed the complainant's boyfriend in the face, the court heard.

Defence barrister Sarah Regan pointed out to the victim under cross-examination that in his first two statements to police he said Lana Stancer was the person who assaulted him and was on top of him before bar staff broke them up.

Miss Regan said: "I am going to suggest you didn't mention female one [Jayde Clowting] because she didn't assault you, did she?"

The complainant admitted he wrongly mistook Clowting for Stancer in his statement but said he did remember Clowting being on top of him.

Miss Regan also established that the complainant had grabbed the defendant's hair first in reaction to the defendant's friend Stancer starting a fight with his boyfriend.

It was suggested that Clowting had only begun swinging her arms after the complainant had grabbed her hair.

The complainant agreed the fight was over very quickly and was "catty".

Miss Regan also questioned the complainant on the alleged sexual assault that happened earlier in the night before the fight broke out.

It was the defence case that Clowting had reached out to grab the outfit the alleged victim had been wearing on the night.

Miss Regan suggested her client had attempted to feel the material of the garment because she liked the outfit. And became confused at the reaction of the complainant who is said to have shouted "don't touch me" at her.

However following the complainants evidence, his ex-boyfriend who was also assaulted that night by Lana Stancer was called.

He recalled in the witness box seeing Clowting reaching in a grabbing motion towards his ex-boyfriends bottom.

He said he saw the defendant reach out again and the complainant hit her hand away and that's when he confronted the defendant.

The witness said he remembered Clowting saying: "I just want to touch him".

And he replied, "that's not okay, he's my boyfriend".

In court he said: "She almost looked confused she just thought it was okay to do that and was going to do it anyway."

Miss Regan suggested to the witness that her client had only tried to touch the complainant once asking what material the outfit was made of.

However, the witness said they had no heard that comment and insisted the defendant had gone to touch his boyfriend twice.

The trial continues.

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