A woman has claimed in a London court that she was sexually assaulted by Rolf Harris in Malta in 1970.

Harris, 84, is facing 12 counts of indecent assault. He is pleading not guilty.

The Guardian newspaper said that the witness, whose name was not published by court order, described encountering Harris in Malta in 1970, when she was 18, after he helped her find a doctor to treat her boyfriend, who had cut his toe swimming. She later returned alone to a bar to thank Harris.

After they chatted about art, she said, he took her into a side room to show her some paintings. He pushed her against a wall and began giving her "slobbery" kisses before touching her breasts and putting his hand in her pants, she said.

The woman said that while she was initially "a bit flattered" about being kissed by a celebrity she was soon alarmed. Harris suddenly stopped and apologised, she said.

Asked by Wass how she felt then, the woman said: "In shock, really. Happy that was it. I thought I was going to be raped."

Earlier, the court heard harris being described as a "disgusting, vile, repulsive man" who switched in an instant from his amiable television persona to grope a teenager who had just asked for his autograph.