A man has been cleared of raping two intoxicated women in their hotel room after he claimed they consented to sex.

The two friends told of waking up naked at the Village Hotel in Maidstone after Taric Matticks had left in the early hours.

A jury acquitted the dreadlocked 29-year-old a week ago of raping one of the women, but could not reach a verdict on a second charge of raping the other woman.

The prosecution was given a week to decide whether to seek a retrial, but a judge was told today that no further evidence would be offered.

Matticks, of St George’s Square, Maidstone, had admitted stealing the women’s mobile phones and was sentenced to four months imprisonment.

He had served six months on remand – the equivalent of a 12-month sentence - while awaiting trial, and was due to be released immediately.

Prosecutor Martin Yale had alleged at Maidstone Crown Court that Matticks took advantage of the two women while they were intoxicated and incapable of consenting.

The friends had made a last minute booking at the hotel in November last year to have a night out in the town.

They drank vodka and lemonade while getting ready and went to a pub and then to Bar Chocolate, where they encountered Matticks, known as TJ.

The women claimed their next memory was being woken up the next morning at about 11.20am by hotel staff.

Their clothes were scattered around the room and their phones were missing from their handbags.

"They clearly fell asleep or passed out and you, for dishonest reasons, chose to steal their phones" - judge Martin Huseyin

There was blood on bedding and on a wall that came from one of the women. Both women showered and one noticed a bruise on her left breast.

They told hotel staff what they could remember. The police were called and the women were examined. Samples taken matched Matticks’ DNA profile.

“Sufficient time had passed for alcohol to be eliminated from their bodies,” said Mr Yale.

“There was no evidence of any date rape drug being administered to either woman, so their intoxicated state must have been as a result of alcohol intake.”

Another guest told police he heard banging coming from the room in the early hours, as if things were being thrown around. He also heard noises like people having sex.

CCTV footage showed one of the women walking arm in arm with Matticks after leaving the club.

Police went to Matticks’ flat and recovered the stolen mobile phones. Photos of one of the women naked and one of the other under a bed sheet were found on his phone.

Jailing Matticks for the theft offences, Judge Martin Huseyin told Matticks by TV link with Elmley Prison: “I sentence you on the basis you had sex with the two women.

"They clearly fell asleep or passed out and you, for dishonest reasons, chose to steal their phones.”