A woman was beaten and raped yesterday after two burglars broke into her home in Belfast. The 36-year-old victim was left severely traumatised and needed hospital treatment for head wounds.
She woke at around 4am to find two men in the bedroom of her house on Brookvale Avenue, north Belfast.
As one of the intruders searched for valuables, his partner carried out the serious sexual assault, police said. A spokeswoman added: "The woman was hit on the head and body and sustained five staple wounds to her head and extensive bruising to the head and body."
The victim ran from her home after the attack and stopped passers-by to raise the alarm. Detectives have urged anyone who was in the Brookvale Avenue, Cliftonville Road or Waterworks areas at the time of the attack to contact police.
Det Insp Tracey Mageean urged witnesses to come forward to help her officers hunt down the pair who subjected the woman to the horrific ordeal.
She said: "I want to reassure the public that police are carrying out vigilant patrols and I have a team of detectives working on this incident.
"This is an abhorrent and cowardly crime and I'm committed to bringing to justice those responsible. To that end, I need the help of the wider community and I would reiterate my appeal for people to ring in and assist." - (PA)