A British man accused of sexually assaulting a Bermudian woman on Bondi Beach in Australia has gone on trial.

Gregory Cox, 32, is alleged to have forced the woman to perform a sex act on him after they met at a bar in Sydney on January 22 last year.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, prosecutors claim that the couple met at a beachside bar, The Bucket List, where the woman kissed and exchanged telephone numbers with a friend of Mr Cox.

But she also engaged in conversation with Mr Cox and, after several hours of drinking, the couple took a walk along the beach.

Crown Prosecutor Elizabeth Wilkins told the trial jury on Thursday that the woman remembered having her back to the water and Mr Cox being with her, with his back up against a concrete wall.

“She recalls being on her knees, trying to stand up but not being able to,” Ms Wilkins said.

“She recalls being held down, she recalls crying and being terrified.”

According to the prosecution, Mr Cox then forced the woman to perform a sex act on him twice.

He allegedly told the woman: “Make it worth my while — there’s nothing you can do about it,” adding that he had “a lot of money” and that if she reported the incident “it would go nowhere”.

The woman left the scene in tears and was eventually taken to a police station by a couple who heard her cries of distress, the newspaper reported.

The jury also heard that Mr Cox later told a friend that the woman began performing a sex act on him but then “freaked” and left, leaving her handbag at the scene. Mr Cox later handed the bag in to police.

He was arrested several days later after returning to the bar, where staff recognised him as being wanted by police.

The trial continues.