The deputy leader of Britain First racially abused a woman wearing a headscarf during a “Christian patrol”, telling her “you cover because you don’t want to be raped”, a court heard.

Jayda Fransen, 31, is accused of hate crimes alongside the leader of the far-right group Paul Golding, 36.

The pair, of Penge, south-east London, are on trial at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court and deny all the allegations they face.

They were arrested in May last year over the alleged distribution of leaflets and online videos, which were posted during a trial at Canterbury Crown Court where three Muslim men and a teenager were convicted of rape and jailed.

Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen are on trial at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court (Gareth Fuller/PA)Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen are on trial at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Fransen is charged with four counts of religiously aggravated harassment and Golding with three counts.

Prosecutor Madeleine Wolf told the court on Tuesday that Fransen was previously convicted of racially aggravated harassment, relating to an incident in January 2016.

She approached a woman wearing a hijab in Luton town centre and told her she “had been hidden because your men can’t control their urges”, Miss Wolf said.

The victim later told police that Fransen said “you cover because you don’t want to be raped”, the court heard.

“This was a Christian patrol carried out by Britain First in Luton,” Miss Wolf added.

Golding has a previous conviction for harassing a person in their home, relating to an incident in January 2015, the court heard.

He told a woman living there that her son was a terrorist and that “we want to evict him, we don’t want him to live there”, Miss Wolf said.

Golding also posted leaflets around the neighbourhood telling them there was a terrorist living near them, she added.

The location of the incident was not given to the court.

The details were given during a prosecution bad character application, which was denied by Judge Justin Barron.