PRAYERS have been said for the victim of a churchyard rape.

A teenager was attacked in the grounds of St Mark’s Church, Shiremoor, near Newcastle, on Monday, October 13, at about 8pm

The vicar, Father Tony Curtis, said: “Like everyone else in Shiremoor the people at St Mark's are shocked and saddened by the incident that has been reported in the news this weekend and our thoughts and prayers are with the young person who was attacked and with her family.

“On Sunday evening I led prayers for the victim, for all people affected by sexual violence, and for the whole community here in Shiremoor and the wider parish.

“We are giving Northumbria Police all the help and support we can in their investigation and we encourage anyone with information about this attack to tell the police what they know so that they can find out exactly what happened as soon as possible.

“A large number of children and young people come to St Mark's both on Sunday and during the week, and we would like to reassure the whole community that all activities will continue to be supervised by appropriate adults, and that as usual we will be making sure that parents are on site before younger children leave.

“We hope and pray that everyone in our community will come together to look after each other at this difficult time, and I encourage everyone to make young people aware of ways they can help to keep themselves and each other as safe as possible.”

Northumbria Police are urging any witnesses to call them on 101.