Men sought after cemetery attack

Police in Merseyside believe two men may have spoken to a 24-year-old woman before she was sexually assaulted in a cemetery in Southport.

Officers said the woman had been out in the area of Bakers Bar and then made her way to Duke Street cemetery on Thursday where she was attacked.

The men are thought to have spoken to the victim a number of times during her journey to the cemetery.

Both men described as white and said to have eastern European accents.

'Severely traumatised'

The first man is described as 6ft (1.83m) tall, about 30-years-old, of medium build with short fair-coloured hair parted on the side.

He was wearing a cream/beige coloured hooded top with a dark jacket on top. The jacket has white writing on the bottom of the coat at the rear.

The second man is described as 5ft 7in (1.70m) tall, 25 to 30-years-old, of slim build with short cropped hair with a high forehead and clean shaven.

He was wearing a dark top with a hood, blue jeans with faded areas at the back and dark coloured shoes.

Detectives have not been able to obtain a full account of what happened from the woman due to the severity of her injuries.

High-visibility police patrols have been stepped up throughout Southport town centre and officers will be visiting clubs, pubs and bars in the town throughout the weekend.

Det Ch Insp Nikki Holland said: "This woman has been left severely traumatised by her ordeal.

"It was a dreadful thing to have happened and she is finding it difficult to come to terms with it."

The victim was seriously injured and remains in hospital in a stable condition.