Two men hunted after woman raped

Police are hoping taxi drivers in Middlesbrough can help them find two men who carried out what they said was a brutal rape of a County Durham woman.

Durham Police said the 25-year-old woman from Sedgefield was attacked on Sunday night after she accepted a lift.

A number of taxi drivers had declined to take her home because she had insufficient money for the fare.

The attackers drove to a lane outside Butterwick where they raped her before dumping her half naked at the scene.

The woman had travelled to Middlesbrough at around midday on Sunday in order to go shopping.

She got chatting to a woman and the pair visited a number of bars in the Corporation Road area, one of which she recalls was called Jumpin' Jacks.

Fell asleep

The pair later became separated and the victim tried to get a taxi to Sedgefield from a rank she thinks was in the Corporation Road area between 2330 BST on Sunday and 0100 BST on Monday.

After being refused a lift by a number of taxis, a black four-door hatchback car with two men inside pulled up and they offered her a lift.

Once inside, she fell asleep and was later woken by the men who both raped her.

The driver is described as dark-skinned, of Asian appearance, mid to late 30s, 5ft 10ins, with short, dark hair and wearing a shiny puffa-style jacket. He spoke with an Asian Middlesbrough accent.

The passenger was white, mid 30s, with crew cut hair and sounded local to Middlesbrough.