A MARRIED couple were the “Fred and Rose West” of Barry for raping girls for more than 20 years, a court has heard.

Wife Avril Griffiths, 61, allegedly “groomed” the young girl victims for her husband Peter Griffiths, now aged 65, to rape.

One alleged victim said: “Everyone hated them.

“They were the Fred and Rose West of the town – people would avoid them.”

Caroline Rees QC, prosecuting, has said the couple exploited three victims “in order to satisfy each of their sexual needs” between the 1970s and 1990s.

The couple were said to be well-known in Barry where they allegedly carried out multiple rapes.

Their alleged third victim said: “I think if you ask most families in Barry, they’d hate them”.

She said she had felt “broken” ever since she had been raped by Griffiths as a teenager.

The court heard the couple had bought the girl cigarettes and alcohol and Mrs Griffiths had dressed her in mini-skirts and heels to “maker her look like her”.

“She was making me look like her, a mini-me,” she told Cardiff Crown Court.

A court heard the couple gave one girl vodka before forcing her to pose for indecent photos with them while they were naked.

Peter Griffiths then allegedly raped the girl and said she could not get pregnant “because he had a vasectomy.”

Ms Rees said the couple would also take the girl out in a van painted in the colours of TV series the A-Team.

Ms Rees said: “The male defendant would have sex with her in the back of a van while others looked on.”

The court heard the girl was passed around to other men.

Ms Rees said: “She was used in effect as a sex toy for the gratification of others.”

The court heard the girl was also taken on a boat in the Bristol channel where she was raped by Peter Griffiths.

Avril Griffiths also allegedly sexually assaulted the girl on the boat.

The girl later told police she had been “ripped apart physically” after suffering injuries.

The court heard Peter Griffiths raped another girl in bed while she was “held down” by Avril Griffiths.

The girl was around 13-years-old at the time.

Avril Griffiths denies five counts of rape, three counts of taking an indecent photograph of a child and two counts of indecent assault.

Peter Griffiths denies eight counts of rape, three counts of taking an indecent photograph of a child and three counts of indecent assault.

The trial before Judge Jeremy Jenkins continues.