A farm worker from Tajikistan has denied raping a student while she was on a night out in Falmouth while home for Christmas from university.

Davlatsho Davlatshoev pleaded not guilty to raping the young woman on December 5 last year in Church Street car park, at the start of his re-trial at Truro Crown Court this morning.

At an earlier trial the jury had been discharged after failing to reach a verdict.

The court heard Davlatshoev had come over to the UK to work at Lower Trevaskis Farm at Conor Downs near Hayle.

Opening the case for the prosecution, barrister Rowan Jenkins claimed the victim had started talking to a friend of Davlatshoev, before turning her attention to the defendant and "within literally seconds" they were kissing.

"But there is a huge difference between willingly kissing someone and having full penetrative sex," said Mr Jenkins.

CCTV video shown to the jury showed Davlatshoev, who was 23 at the time, taking the victim by the hand and pointing across the road to the alleyway leading to the car park and leading her by the hand in that direction. It is alleged he took her into the car park and raped her.

Mr Jenkins said earlier in the evening the victim had gone to a Falmouth bar after attending the Penryn Christmas lights switch-on to meet a friend who worked there.

She drank two bottles of beer and a vodka, staying for two hours. She was then persuaded by another friend to go to Club International at around 10.40pm. When she left she appeared completely sober, according to a friend who saw her, said Mr Jenkin.

"She has a pretty high drink tolerance," he said.

Her friend finished her shift at the bar at around 1am and sent a message to the complainant but received no reply, but as she was walking up Church Street she received a call from her friend sounding very distressed saying she had been raped.

Further down the road she met the victim who was in "quite a state and very unsteady on her feet". CCTV footage shown to the jury at that time showed the complainant staggering about and hardly able to stand up. Mr Jenkins said there were claims that her drink had been spiked, but there was no evidence of that.

In a video interview with the police after the alleged rape she said she could usually "drink other people under the table" but this time she was "completely out of it." She said she knew exactly how much she had drunk and it was not nearly enough to be in that state.

"I was just sitting down having a smoke, avoiding eye contact with anyone, when this male approached me and started talking to me, but I wasn't interested," she said.

She said she moved away but the male approached her again, despite her telling him she wasn't interested. She said she didn't remember how they got to the car park.

"I didn't know what was happening," she said. "I had my eyes closed the whole time, I just froze. That's why I couldn't describe the person who did it. I remember it happening but don't remember much it was so quick.

"My eyes were closed and my trousers were taken down when we got round the corner and I somehow ended up on the floor. I don't know how that happened."

She said the rape took place by the fenced off area where the bins are placed. 

After his arrest Davlatshoev, who speaks very poor English, claimed that the alleged victim had initiated the sex and he hadn't initially been interested as he did not find her attractive.

The trial continues.