A doctor who befriended a boy of 13 on a children's ward at Mayday Hospital more than 25 years ago sexually abused him before starting a relationship with him, a court has heard.

Jeremy Jackman, who worked as a senior house officer in paediatrics at the time, is accused of indecently assaulting the teenager and committing acts of indecency against the boy's younger brother between 1978 and 1983.

Jackman, a 53-year-old GP, who now lives in Stone Close, Andover, Hampshire, is alleged to have indecently assaulted the 13-year-old in an examination room at the hospital while the teenager was a long-term patient there, Croydon Crown Court heard on Monday.

It is also alleged that he plied the youngster with alcohol on a day trip to the seaside when he was 14 before another assault took place and showered the boy with gifts and outings, including concert tickets and trips to West End theatres.

The court also heard how Jackman took him back to his private quarters for food and drink and regularly took him out in his MG convertible sports car, treating him to new clothes, meals out and a moped, complete with tax and insurance.

Jackman denies three counts of indecent assault and two counts of indecency relating to sexual advances towards the boy's younger brother.

The man, now 39, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court: "Dr Jackman took me to a room where there was an examination table and I was asked to remove my pyjamas and lie on my side on the bed."

Giving evidence, the man, who has a history of mental health problems and suffered at the hands of his violent stepfather, admitted Jackman was like a father figure to him.

He added: "Dr Jackman was extremely generous and in some ways I was very flattered by the fact that I was gifted things that other people were not getting."

But halfway through giving evidence he changed the venue of the third alleged assault from Whittington Hospital to Stanmore Hospital and when he was quizzed on the finer details of his allegations he admitted he was not sure about exactly what had happened.

The trial continues.