A SOLDIER accused of raping a Chepstow woman has been cleared of the charge by a jury.

Tobias Scott, 31, of Denison Barracks, Hermitage, Thatcham, was on trial at Newport Crown Court for one count of rape, which he denied.

He was found not guilty by a unanimous decision, with the jury taking around just an hour and a half to reach its verdict.

Mr Scott spoke of his shock at the accusation, during the trial.

The mechanical engineer in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers regiment of the British Army told the jury on Wednesday that he and the woman were having a 'petting session' on the sofa watching films, while her two children were upstairs asleep on February 9.

He said this later lead to the pair having consensual sex.

"She was reacting positively, pushing against me and making pleasant noises but what I can only describe as a light switch, one minute she was there and the next minute she had jumped up and was in an angry state. She said what are you doing?” he added.

"I was confused at her response."

The jury heard that the woman left the room and the pair then exchanged text messages. Scott sent a text which said: "So sorry babe, I feel awful. Please don't hate me."

He said: "I was bemused, unsure about everything. I was confused more than anything."

The alleged victim sent a text at 4.02pm later that day which said 'You raped me' to which Scott replied, 'Sorry.'

He said: "There was a high level of confusion, I was in shock. I sent the reply seven seconds later.

"I felt at the time that I had seduced her - there was a bad feeling."

He added: "I was apologising for her feeling that way not saying sorry for raping you."

He also said he text her ‘sorry’ because he believed he had lead her to breaking rules on dating.

Scott told the court that the alleged victim had told him on numerous occasions they were not going to have sex with each other that night, as the children were in the house and she wanted to get to know him better.

The woman said she had fallen asleep on the sofa next to Mr Scott and woke up to find him having sex with her.

But the jury returned a verdict which said this was not the case.