The jury in the trial of a 44-year-old man accused of raping a schoolgirl and dangerous driving in Ipswich has retired to consider its verdicts.

Before Ipswich Crown Court on Tuesday was Francois Havenga, of no fixed address.

He has denied two offences of raping a child and an offence of driving an Audi A3 on the A140 at Brockford and Spinner Close in Ipswich dangerously.

It has been alleged that when Havenga was suspected of the child rape offences, he sent a text message saying he was sorry and that he was “going to carry on driving until he ran out of road”.

Police were alerted and officers tried to stop Havenga on the A140 but he had sped off and had allegedly driven dangerously on the A140 and in Ipswich before decamping from his car and fleeing on foot, said Jo Morris, prosecuting.

Following his arrest, Havenga denied raping a schoolgirl and he also denied having a sexual interest in children.

He chose not to give evidence during his trial, which started last week.

The jury retired to consider its verdicts on Tuesday and is expected to continue its deliberations on Wednesday.