Women warned after rape attacks

Extra police are patrolling Northampton after the attacks

Women have been warned not to go out alone after dark after a series of three rapes and two abduction attempts in the same town over 10 days.

Police in Northampton say they have had a "good response" to media appeals to trace the suspects.

The five victims - the youngest just 15 - have been approached while out alone in the early hours of the morning.

Three were raped but two managed to flee from the men, who are thought to work in unison to abduct their victims.

CCTV footage of the areas involved are being checked and police are also stopping and searching cars and men matching the victim's descriptions given of the men.

We are very pleased with the response to the media appeals and have now received a number of very positive leads to work on Det Chief Insp John Jones

Extra police patrols will be out in force in the town centre over the coming days to reassure the public that it is still safe to go out.

On Wednesday detectives said they had had "very positive " leads from media appeals to trace their main suspects - three or more black men with South African accents.

"We are very pleased with the response to the media appeals and have now received a number of very positive leads to work on," said Det Chief Insp John Jones, who is leading the hunt.

But Mr Jones also appealed to women to be alert and take all reasonable steps to keep themselves safe.

'More vigilant'

"We do not want to make areas no go areas and we do not want to stop females going out and enjoying themselves, but obviously following these recent incidents we need them to be even more vigilant and to exercise common sense about where they go and how they get there," he said.

He also appealed to any other women who may have been approached or attacked by the men to come forward.

The attackers are described as tall, black men with South African accents who were driving a blue BMW car and a light-coloured Fiat Punto for some of the attacks.

Mr Jones said officers were still keeping an "open mind" on whether all five incidents were linked.

Of the five attacks, the first two reported to police happened within an hour of each other, in the early hours of Monday 1 August.

A girl of 15 was dragged into a white or silver Fiat Punto by two black men in Doddridge Street but managed to escape and phone her family.

Just 45 minutes later an 18-year-old woman was approached in nearby Horsemarket and pushed into a blue BMW by a man who pulled up behind in a light coloured Punto. She was driven to Nobottle Road in the Duston area where she was raped by the BMW driver.

A 25-year-old woman was approached early last Wednesday morning by a man driving a BMW near Northampton General Hospital.

Latest victim

She was chased in to the car park where the man said he wanted to give her a lift home. She escaped after telling him she was meeting friends.

After publicity about the first two attacks, a woman came forward to tell police that she had been raped by a man matching the description of the attackers on Sunday 31 July.

When she was in Horseshoe Street she was approached by a single black man, frog-marched across the dual carriageway and down a side road where she was raped.

The latest victim was on a woman of 30 on Monday. She was found with head injuries in Exeter Place after apparently being hit over the head. She had also been raped.