By Dave GooderhamA TOWN has been gripped by fear once again after a 25-year-old woman was raped in a churchyard after a night out.The woman was attacked in St Mary's churchyard, Haverhill, in the early hours of Sunday after leaving the nearby Rush Nightclub.

By Dave Gooderham

A TOWN has been gripped by fear once again after a 25-year-old woman was raped in a churchyard after a night out.

The woman was attacked in St Mary's churchyard, Haverhill, in the early hours of Sunday after leaving the nearby Rush Nightclub.

She was due last night to give police a formal statement, but initial investigations indicate she may have left the club with a man before she was raped.

The woman, who comes from the Haverhill area, reported the incident to police on Monday and officers have sealed off the churchyard as they continue their investigations.

Detective Inspector Stuart McCallum, of Suffolk police, said: “The woman has been left extremely shocked and distressed by the ordeal.

“She is now at her home address being comforted by friends and members of her family.”

The attack was the fourth rape or attempted rape in the town in little over a year and one concerned mother said the situation seemed to be getting worse.

Sylvia Brown, from Haverhill, said she would be now warning her two teenage daughters to remain vigilant.

“It is awful that something like this has happened, it is completely shocking. Every other month something is going on in the town,” she added.

“I have lived in Haverhill all my life and it seems to get worse and worse. I always say to my teenage girls 'Never accept a drink off anyone'. I will now be stepping this up after this latest attack.”

In a statement from Rush Nightclub, company director Scott Murray declined to comment on the incident.

But he confirmed: “We, along with other venues in Haverhill, have been approached by Suffolk police to assist with an investigation of alleged assault that occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning some distance away from the club premises.

“Due to the extensive closed circuit television in operation at the premises, Rush Nightclub is working in close co-operation with the police in order to assist with their investigation.”

On May 17 last year, a man attacked a woman at knifepoint at Burton End Primary School in Haverhill. He forced her to the ground and attempted to take down her trousers, but she scratched and bit the man and he fled.

A woman in her 40s was raped just yards from her home on the town's Clements estate in October, while one month later a man was allegedly raped in the Jubilee Walk area of Haverhill.

Anyone with information about the rape, or who was in the area of the churchyard between midnight and about 5am on Sunday and noticed any suspicious activity, should contact Suffolk police on 01284 774100.

dave.gooderham@eadt.co.uk