A 16-year-old pupil giving evidence at Winchester Crown Court has told jurors he was almost caught slapping the bottom of his female PE teacher, Bronwen James, on school grounds, as part of what he described as their "flirting". James, 30, denies four counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust, and claims the boy was persuaded by another pupil to fabricate the allegations against her.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court he had sex with James at her house on several occasions, including while watching Wimbledon, and that she asked him to call her "miss" during their encounters as a "fantasy". He said a senior teacher at Bitterne Park School in Southampton narrowly failed to spot the pair together after the alleged slap, and described comforting James on another occasion when she was upset after her boyfriend ended their relationship. Under cross-examination by defence barrister Heather Stangoe, he was challenged over inconsistencies in his account but insisted he was certain the relationship had taken place, attributing his hesitant phrasing during police interviews to nerves.