A 34-YEAR-OLD Ipswich man who left a young teenage girl's neck covered in love bites is today awaiting sentencing for indecent assault.Magistrates heard how Stephen Woods, of London Road, Ipswich, met the 13-year-old girl when she was playing in a street with her friends.

A 34-YEAR-OLD Ipswich man who left a teenage girl's neck covered in love bites is today awaiting sentencing for indecent assault.

Magistrates heard Stephen Woods, of London Road, Ipswich, met the 13-year-old girl when she was playing in a street with her friends.

Gareth Davies, prosecuting, said: "They were playing running races, that type of thing - the usual sort of thing you expect of a girl of that age."

He described the victim as "very young-looking for her age."

Appearing at Ipswich Magistrates Court yesterday, Woods admitted a charge of indecently assaulting a female under 16 years of age.

The court heard that Woods, who was living with his wife and two children at the time, exchanged phone numbers with the girl and met up with her on several subsequent occasions.

Mr Davies said the victim's parents became concerned when they noticed a number of love bites on her neck.

When they found out they were from Woods, they immediately contacted the police.

Mr Davies said: "In police interviews the girl describes him putting his mouth on her neck and sucking. She said she had so many she lost count.

"This is a very unusual case in that, although it's a report of indecent assault, it's not the usual sort of matter that you would hear about. There is no evidence of sexual contact whatsoever."

Sharon Hector, mitigating, said: "This is very much at the end of the scale of indecent assault. It had been going on for many weeks and there was no suggestion of sexual activity.

"He accepts that there is no excuse for a 34-year-old man befriending a teenage girl in that way."

The case has been adjourned until March 16 to await pre-sentence reports.