Cole: My 'rape' hell

One of the Premiership footballers at the centre of the "roasting" rape allegations today revealed for the first time how the incident had changed his life.

With football again under the spotlight with three Leicester City players on bail for sexual aggression in Spain, Charlton's Carlton Cole said he was always confident his name would be cleared.

Following a three-and-a-half month inquiry, the Crown Prosecution Service announced in January that they would not prosecute Cole, 20, and 22-year-old Newcastle star Titus Bramble.

The alleged victim, a former convent schoolgirl, told police she was raped at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane on 27 September.

In the days after the incident, party organiser Nicholas Meikle told a newspaper how the girl had been "roasted" - a slang term used by footballers who share young women for sex. He claimed she had consented to group sex after a party of young men including himself, Cole, Bramble and Jason Edwards met her in a West End bar.

Speaking for the first time about the allegations, Cole said: "I was in the room with her and another player, I won't lie about that, but there was nothing unlawful. I'd rather it was out in the open and clear everything up."

"I was definitely victimised and if I wasn't a footballer none of this would've happened. The girl wouldn't have had a go at me but at least it made me realise I have a responsibility.

"She came out with a stupid story that didn't add up and as soon as it's in the press people label you as a rapist. I was being called a rapist during games and as a young lad it was very difficult to take on the chin.

"I told my family that I couldn't take the abuse I was getting and they said, 'You put yourself in the muddle, you hung around these girls and have to fix it.' The case affected me deeply but I maintained my innocence and knew I'd be cleared." Although scarred by his own experience, Cole feels he has learned an important lesson early in life.

He said: "My ordeal changed me a lot and I'm determined to concentrate on football. It was a horrible time but also a learning experience. I've learned that I have a responsibility to be a role model and share what I've been through with younger footballers."

Cole also defended his good friend Frank Sinclair, who was released on bail early this morning along with Paul Dickov and Keith Gillespie from prison in Spain.

The three are still facing charges of sexual aggression, but Cole said of his former Chelsea team-mate: "I feel sorry for Frank as I know him very well. He's not the type of person to get into that sort of trouble and it's not in his character. I just don't get the