POLICE are today working with the victim of an alleged rape to try and gather more information in a bid to catch the perpetrators.

Officers are trawling through CCTV footage and following a number of lines of inquiry after reports a 21-year-old was allegedly raped after getting into what she thought was a taxi.

The woman was with friends on the town’s Waterfront on Tuesday night but became separated from them before getting into a silver three-door hatchback car that she believed was a taxi.

Ipswich Hackney carriage driver Eric Pearl is urging people to check they are getting into a licensed taxi to ensure their personal safety.

He said: “The best advice is that anybody, whether male or female, should check the taxi has a licence plate in the front window and on the back of the vehicle before getting in.

“The driver also has to wear a badge and if they are not wearing one, the driver is not approved by Ipswich Borough Council.”

The safety advice was echoed by deputy provost at University Campus Suffolk, Richard Lister, who said: “Most of the time Ipswich is a safe place to live and work but we put our students’ safety at the highest priority so will be taking steps to ensure we remind all students to keep safe at all times.”

The occupants of the silver car, two men, took the woman to a flat where they gave her a drink before one of them allegedly raped her.

She managed to leave the apartment and was met by a friend on Warwick Road.

The assault is believed to have happened between 11.30pm and 3.30am and police received the sexual assault complaint shortly after.

The car driver, who is alleged to have assaulted her, is of Indian appearance, in his late 20s, 5ft 5ins tall, of large build and had short black hair with a birthmark on the right side of his face. He wore a grey jumper and dark jeans.

The second man is white, in his late 20s, 5ft 8ins tall and of large build. He wore jeans and spoke with a local accent.

Officers are carrying out inquiries to establish the woman’s movements between leaving the Waterfront and being in Warwick Road.

They are keen to speak to anyone who may have seen a distressed female, particularly in the Devonshire Road, Warwick Road and Alexandra Road areas of Ipswich in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The woman has been given support by specially-trained officers and support workers from the Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

Anyone with information should call Det Sgt Darren Bruce at Ipswich CID on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.