Crowds state revulsion at attack

The vigil by local residents took place at the garage forecourt

Several hundred people gathered in west Belfast on Wednesday evening to show their revulsion at the rape of a 15-year-old girl at the weekend.

The girl, on holiday from England, was raped twice in the Blacks Road area while her three teenage friends were threatened with a metal bar.

The attacker used the girl's mobile to tell her mother what he had done.

The vigil by local residents took place at the forecourt of a filling station where the teenager was first raped.

The teenagers were all ordered into the grounds of Colin Valley Golf Centre after the initial attack, where the same man raped the girl again.

Local community worker John Fox said they wanted to show solidarity with the victims.

"We need to support the family and the victims, we need to show revulsion at what happened here, we needed to show this isn't acceptable to our community," Mr Fox said.

"We also need to put out an appeal to the community for anybody who has any information to come forward."

Police have issued photofits of the two attackers.

They may also holding an internal investigation into claims that officers did not act on information about the rape.