Police say churchyard rape migrant speculation 'unfounded'

A woman in her 30s was attacked in the grounds of St Mary's Church in the early hours of Sunday

Police have said there is no information to link the rape of a woman by a group of men in a churchyard to migrant accommodation at this stage.

Thames Valley Police said its investigation "remains open" with regards to an attack on a woman in her 30s in the grounds of St Mary's Church in Banbury, Oxfordshire, in the early hours of Sunday.

The force made the comments in response to online speculation, and previously said one of the offenders had been described as white, but there were "no further verified descriptions".

The town council, the local MP and the church's vicar have appealed for anyone with information on the "horrific" attack to contact police.

In a statement, police said: "We are aware of speculation circulating regarding the possible ethnic background or origin of the individuals connected to this incident.

"At this stage, we have no further verified description of those involved, and any assumptions being made are unfounded and unhelpful to the investigation.

"We can confirm there is no information at this stage to link this investigation to migrant accommodation."

The force has also not said how many attackers were believed to have been involved.

Police are also appealing for a woman who they believe may have tried to help the victim, as well as anyone else in the area between midnight and 02:30 BST, to get in touch.

Reverend Serena Tajima told the BBC her church would be praying for the victim of the attack

Banbury MP Sean Woodcock said: "I know this will have shocked the entire community and all our thoughts are with the victim."

He said it was important to allow officers to investigate properly and "to avoid any speculation".

A Banbury Town Council spokesperson said: "We are extremely shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the terrible incident that occurred in St Mary's Churchyard in the early hours of Sunday morning.

"Our thoughts are with the victim and those close to them at this incredibly difficult time, as well as the wider community of Banbury who will no doubt have been affected by this news."

Reverend Serena Tajima said her church was "greatly saddened to hear of the horrific incident that happened at our graveyard".

"Our prayers are with the victim at this difficult time," she added.

"We had our early music festival that weekend and... to think that only a few hours later this awful thing was happening, it just makes it even worse."

Detectives have described the crime as "horrific" and previously said an investigation was under way to identify the offenders.

The victim is being supported by specially trained officers.