Man in his 30s is raped in Liverpool city centre in the early hours as police cordon off area

• St John's Gardens was cordoned off by Merseyside Police following reports

By Matt Drake[1]

Published: 12:37, 13 January 2024 | Updated: 12:37, 13 January 2024

A man in his 30s was raped in the centre of Liverpool in the early hours of this morning, it has been reported.

St John's Gardens was cordoned off by Merseyside Police[2] after reports of the attack at around 4.30am.

Before the suspect ran towards Lime Street station, he was said to have taken a piece of jewellery from the victim.

Emergency services attended the scene and police remain in the area as they carry out enquiries.

Photos show two police cordons in place around a war memorial and a tree behind St George's Hall.

Chief Inspector Dave Currie said: 'We are in the very early stages of investigating this incident and officers remain in the area to carry out initial enquiries.

Photos taken at the scene show two police cordons in place around a war memorial and a tree behind St George's Hall

'I understand incidents of this nature will cause concern, but please be reassured that we take all reports of rape and sexual assault extremely seriously and we are determined to find the person responsible.

'If you have any information about this incident, or you were driving past the area at the time and have dashcam footage showing anything suspicious, please get in touch as a matter of urgency.'

Chief Inspector Currie added: 'Rape is an unimaginably awful crime that we hope no one has to go through, but if you or someone you know has experienced rape or sexual assault, please have the confidence to speak to us and report it.

'We will listen carefully and do everything we can to bring such offenders to justice.

'Our specialist Unity Team is committed to investigating any reports of a sexual offence and supporting victims through the whole investigative process so that we can prevent any further crimes of this awful nature from happening.'

If you have any information on the incident, please contact Merseyside Police via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook Merseyside Police Contact Centre.

You can also call 101 quoting log number 120 of 13th January, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Always call 999 if a crime is in progress.

Anyone who wants to report a sexual offence is asked to call 101 where you will be spoken to by a specially trained officer.

Alternatively, you can report a sexual offence by calling 101 or you can pass information to Crimestoppers.

References

1. ^ Matt Drake (www.dailymail.co.uk)
2. ^ Merseyside Police (www.dailymail.co.uk)
3. ^ Facebook (www.dailymail.co.uk)
4. ^ Merseyside Police (www.dailymail.co.uk)