A JOHNSTONE teenager was yesterday cleared of breaking into a flat... after her co-accused told a court he forced his way into the property so he could have sex with her.

Courtney Heron, 18, and Robert Docherty, 37, were said to have broken into the property with intent to steal.

They both denied targeting the flat in Kilnside Road, Paisley, on August 17 last year and went on trial at Paisley Sheriff Court.

Defending himself, Mr Docherty said that, as he was then living in a homeless hostel, he was not allowed to take guests back after 10pm.

He claimed he forced his way into the flat in the belief he and Ms Heron could have sex, after meeting her in Paisley town centre that night.

He said: “I couldn’t take anyone back to the hostel as it was after 10pm. She said, ‘I’ll take us somewhere.’ I thought she had a house.”

Mr Docherty, from Paisley, agreed with defence solicitor Terry Gallanagh that he “believed there was going to be some form of sexual contact” with Ms Heron.

He said Ms Heron took him to the flat in Kilnside Road, where the close door was unlocked, and he helped her gain access after she told him she didn’t have her key.

As Mr Docherty gave evidence, Heron, who is 35 weeks’ pregnant, left the dock, shouting: “I can’t listen to this – he’s talking f****** s****, man!”

She was ushered back to the dock but, after another outburst, was taken to the cells.

Yesterday, procurator fiscal depute David McDonald said: “Forcing open the door of a top-floor flat while under the influence of drink and drugs, in the hopes of sleeping with a 17-year-old, is hardly the romance and chivalry you might find in a Mills and Boon novel, but it is a story weaved around the known facts, a story designed to distract us from the truth.”

However, Mr Gallanagh  said there was “no evidence” they broke into the flat with the intention of stealing from the property, adding: “We’re told Mr Docherty wanted some form of sexual contact with a 17-year-old. This isn’t a court of morals – that’s not a crime.”

Defence solicitor advocate Chris McKenna urged the jury to acquit Ms Heron, of Greenend Avenue, saying she was under a lot of stress, facing a serious charge while pregnant and just a teenager.

The jury found the charges against the pair not proven.