An adulterous Chadwell Heath man tried to hide from his wife in the back of a van before being discovered with an alleged teenage prostitute, a court heard today.

Nabeel Ahmed, of Chadwell Heath Lane, is accused of being part of a child prostitution ring that preyed on vulnerable teenage girls from a care home.

The 24-year-old is on trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court with four other men for offences including rape, sexual assault and controlling prostitution.

Co-defendant Naeem Ahmed, 25, of Westminster Gardens, Barking, told the jury he was at a house with friends, including a 17-year-old girl who allegedly worked as a prostitute for him.

He said: “I got a call from Nabeel saying he was in the back of my van.

“He was hiding from his wife because she was parked right in front of it.”

Naeem, who is not related to Nabeel, said two friends drove the van around the block until the wife left and Nabeel could come into the house.

He said the girl “hugged” Nabeel and “sat on his lap” until there was banging at the door.

Naeem told the jury: “I saw [the girl] run past the kitchen and up the stairs and I followed her because I thought she might have hurt herself.

“Nabeel’s wife came up the stairs and started asking me where he was.

“She went downstairs and I heard them arguing in the kitchen.”

The incident happened after Naeem and Nabeel, along with his brother Jameel Ahmed, of Neville Road, Dagenham, allegedly raped the girl in a hotel after unsuccessful attempts to find another girl from the care home to have sex with.

Nabeel and Naeem are also charged with raping another 18-year-old girl who they picked up off the street in Chadwell Heath in May.

Nabeel denies three counts of rape and his brother Jameel, 25, denies two. Naeem denies five counts of rape, controlling child prostitution, paying for the sexual services of a child, inciting child prostitution and causing prostitution for a gain.

Anas Iqbal, 25, of Newham Way, East Ham, denies six counts of rape and paying for the sexual services of a child. Hassan Raza, 23, of Westminster Gardens, denies sexual assault.

The trial continues.