‘I told kidnapper I loved him to escape’

 A young woman allegedly abducted and raped by a “psycho” builder managed to escape by telling him she loved him and wanted them to run away together, a court heard.

Mujahid Arshid, 33, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of attempting to murder the woman and killing her close friend, Celine Dookhran, 20, a Barclays worker who was his niece, and dumping the body in a freezer.

Speaking from her bed at St George’s hospital in Tooting, south London, with bandages on her arms, the survivor relived her ordeal in a taped interview. She told police: “I started saying things he wanted me to hear – I love you, we can run away together, we can be happy together, we can have a family.” Later, the witness said she managed to grab a mobile phone and raise the alarm.

She was rescued by Mr Arshid’s brother, who took her to hospital. Mr Arshid, of no fixed address, and Vincent Tappu, 28, his alleged accomplice from Acton, west London, deny all charges. The trial continues.