A YOUNG woman who claimed she was brutally raped may face prosecution after it emerged last night that the allegation was false.

The 21-year-old told police that she had been held down by one man and assaulted by another in an alley in Askrigg Street, Darlington, after a night out in the town centre.

Her account of events, said to have happened in the early hours of Saturday, May 4, sparked a major police investigation that has cost thousands of pounds and hundreds of man hours.

Women in the town feared falling victim to the rapist after news of the attack was released.

Last night, police confirmed the Darlington woman had withdrawn her claim to have been a victim of any kind of sexual attack.

Detective Ian Phillips, of Darlington CID, said: "We are no longer looking for the person identified by an e-fit, or any other man, in connection with the alleged incident.

"Our inquiries are in the process of being wound down and a case file has been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service regarding a possible offence of wasting police time."

The woman's claims led police to set up an incident room from where they co-ordinated a full-scale investigation. The cost is believed to run into five figures.

Officers produced an e-fit of the suspected rapist and distributed hundreds of leaflets around the town, seeking information.

Businesses in the town, including pubs and bars, rallied round to help by displaying the leaflets in windows.

Police also tried to find an old school friend of the victim, whom she supposedly met in town centre prior to the alleged attack.

Hours of CCTV footage, some of it which recorded the victim's movements after leaving Club 2K nightclub, were also studied.