A WOMAN believed she was being given a lift home by a man she met in a Blackpool bar -- but was, instead, driven 90 miles and raped on a canal barge, a court has heard.

Paul Meredith, 45, of Beckett Avenue, Stoke-on-Trent, met his 18-year-old victim in a Blackpool bar and offered her a lift in his Toyota MR2 car.

But, instead of dropping her at her home, he drove down the M6 to Staffordshire where, Stafford Crown Court heard, she was raped aboard Meredith's canal boat.

The woman had been on a night out with a former boyfriend on July 31 last year. He left the club they were in shortly after midnight, leaving her alone.

She began talking to Meredith, and accepted the offer of a lift home from him.

However, the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, found herself being driven south, eventually reaching a gravel car park, where she could make out barges along a canal.

She later told police she 'knew what was coming.'

After talking for a while, the woman said Meredith dragged her inside by her wrists, though there was no evidence of a struggle.

As she curled up on the bed with her hands over her face, he undressed and assaulted her.

Paul Glenn, defending Meredith, said the woman had a number of opportunities to shout for help or try and get away. He claimed there was no struggle at the barge before she had consented to sex.

After the attack, Meredith took his victim back to Blackpool. The woman immediately contacted police.

Meredith was found guilty by unanimous decision of the jury. The case was adjourned for sentence.