A man accused of raping a teenager he kept in a car against her will after he picked her up in a Norwich club has been found not guilty of false imprisonment.

Shahan Ali, 30, was alleged to have carried out the sex attack after meeting the 17-year-old girl in Reload nightclub, on Prince of Wales Road, in Norwich.

A trial at Norwich Crown Court had heard that the girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was driven back to the car park of the Holiday Inn on Ipswich Road, in Norwich.

Ali, from Glasgow, was accused of locking the teenager in the vehicle before he forced her to engage in a sexual act on February 19 last year.

A jury of six men and six women unanimously found Ali not guilty of false imprisonment after almost five hours of deliberations.

Judge Stephen Holt invited jurors to continue deliberating over the other charge of rape he faced, stating he would now take a majority verdict.

But after almost six hours of deliberations the jury was formally discharged by Judge Holt after they were unable to reach a verdict.

The case has been listed for a mention on March 22 by which time the crown prosecution service will have decided whether there is still to be a trial on the outstanding count of rape.