A man was remanded in custody on Thursday after pleading not guilty to raping a woman during carnival celebrations in Nadur last month.

Inspector Josef Gauci, prosecuting together with lawyer Angele Vella from the Office of the Attorney General, told Magistrate Astrid May Grima that the incident happened between 3am and 4am on February 19 in Nadur.

They told the court that the man could not be arrested and arraigned before since it proved difficult to identify him through CCTV footage which was being used by the police during their investigations.

They said the man, whose name was banned from publication, followed the woman as she was walking to her car after having left the carnival celebrations.

She hastened her pace and tried to run away when she realised she was being followed but the man still caught up with her and raped her with his hand.

The man was charged with raping the woman, committing a non-consensual sexual act, subjecting her to unwanted physical intimacy, holding her against her will and slightly injuring her during the scuffle.

He was also accused of committing an offence against public decency and morals.

The man pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him and was remanded in custody.