A 41-year-old Worcestershire cricket coach "crossed the boundary" with a young player when he showed him a porn film, a jury has been told.

Simon Price, of Lanesfield Road, Evesham, was not a predatory paedophile who deliberately got involved with teenage boys but on one occasion he had given in to temptation, Jonathan Stanniland, prosecuting, told the jury at Worcester Crown Court.

Price admitted he had watched the film with the boy in a storeroom but insisted he did not engage in any sexual activity in the presence of the teenager.

Price, he said, had coached hundreds of youngsters and was a well-liked man in the county cricketing world but showing a porn film to encourage the young player "did not fit in with his coaching philosophy."

Price, who coached at Evesham and Harvington cricket clubs and was also employed as the sports centre manager at Prince Henry’s High School, Evesham, denies two offences of sexual activity in the presence of a child by a person in a position of trust.

He also pleads not guilty to causing a child to watch a pornographic film for his own sexual gratification and inciting the boy to perform a sexual act in his presence.

Price was suspended by the school and later resigned.

Kevin Grego, defending, said showing the boy 10 minutes of a porn film had been an act of "utter, abject stupidity." Price had told the jury himself that he had been "a fool" but there was a difference between that and a criminal offence.

He said the boy had started out by "telling a fib" and then had to carry on when the allegation was reported.

The jury was due to retire to consider its verdict today (Tuesday).