Man arrested over rape in cathedral grounds

Police attended the scene in the early hours of Friday

A man has been arrested following the rape of a woman in the grounds of Hereford Cathedral.

West Mercia Police, which was alerted shortly before 04:00 BST, said it believed the victim had met a man while out on Thursday evening.

A 31-year-old man held on suspicion of rape remained in custody while inquiries were ongoing, police stated on Friday afternoon.

Earlier, the force had released CCTV images of a man they wished to trace in connection with the investigation.

At midday on Friday, Det Ch Insp Ross Jones said the force received a call "from a female [who] reported that she'd been raped in the grounds of Hereford Cathedral".

He explained that police believed the victim had met a man "while she was out with a friend [on Thursday] evening and spent the latter part of the evening in a local nightclub".

The cathedral had given police access to CCTV, he added.

The officer said: "A large team of detectives are working through that footage as well, along with... local authority CCTV, which we know provides really good coverage of Hereford city centre too."

The woman is being supported by specialist officers.

A cordon "may well be in place for a prolonged period of time", according to police.

The cordon is expected to remain in place for a 'prolonged period'

Officers have appealed for anyone with information or relevant dashcam footage to come forward.

Gillian Penney, who is on the welcome desk at the cathedral, said news of the attack had come as a surprise to her.

She added: "Look at the lighting that's all around the cathedral on the outside and security lighting and we have the CCTV as soon as you get to the door of the cathedral."

Local woman Jennifer Richardson told BBC Hereford and Worcester: "It's shocking, isn't it?... especially the cathedral grounds. To do it [there], I think it's vile... Awful."