By Andrew Clarke

Last updated at 11:34, Thursday, 25 October 2012

A WEST Cumbrian man claims he was drugged and raped by the disgraced television star Jimmy Savile.

The man, now in his 70s, says he was attacked by Savile in the back of his Rolls Royce after meeting the TV and radio personality in 1963.

Speaking anonymously during a television interview this week, the man says he was 23 and married when the assault took place and spent the following years reliving his ordeal.

They met by chance, he said, at a pub in Manchester and went on to a wrestling event. “We went back to his Rolls Royce for a last drink and he offered me a drink from his bar called ‘a Savile Special’ – I had a smell of it and it was so strong and that’s the last thing I remember.

“I woke and was being assaulted and I was convinced I had been drugged. I kicked out when I came round and struck him on the shin and he let go. I flew out of the car and into my own and the first thing I did when I got home was to have a bath.”

He is the latest person to allege he was abused by Savile and has reported his allegations to the police.

Last week, the Metropolitan Police launched a “formal criminal investigation” into Savile’s alleged offences and said it was following up 400 lines of inquiry, following complaints of abuse and sexual assault by the entertainer who died last October aged 84.

In total, more than 200 potential victims have been identified.

The man says he didn’t report the incident to the police at the time as he feared that he “would not be believed”.

He said: “I didn’t report it because Savile was too powerful. I didn’t stand a chance if I had taken him to court; I was just an ordinary working guy. If I could have done something I would have.”

He has chosen to speak about his ordeal now, 49 years later, after details of other alleged victims have emerged in recent weeks.

“It has brought it all back,” he said. “I have started to have dreams about it and relive it all over again.”

The man has criticised those who knew about Savile’s alleged offences but failed to act. “It makes me feel really angry. The victims have been let down by those who knew about it but did nothing; they should feel ashamed of themselves for not doing something.”

First published at 11:05, Thursday, 25 October 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk