Police inquiry over rape attack

Police on Teesside are investigating the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl outside a bar in Middlesbrough.

The girl and a friend had spent Saturday evening in the Purple Onion bar and restaurant on Corporation Road but the pair became separated.

She was reunited with her friend in the bar at 0015 BST on Sunday and a member of the public found the girls crying in the toilets and contacted the police.

Police are examining footage from seven CCTV cameras in and around the bar.

The attack is said to have taken place in a doorway alongside the bar on Elliot Street.

Police are trying to identify a man leaving the bar with the girl who is described as white, more than 6ft, and wearing a white top and dark trousers.

Acting Det Sgt Neil Robinson said: "She was obviously very upset and traumatised.

"We are taking this very seriously indeed due to the fact she is just 13.

"You can appreciate that Middlesbrough town centre is not a place for 13-year-old girls to come into at night."