A WOMAN who claimed she had been raped may face prosecution for wasting police time after withdrawing her allegation.

The 21-year-old told detectives 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, said to have happened in the early hours of Saturday morning on May 4, sparked a major police investigation that cost thousands of pounds and used up hundreds of man hours.

Police confirmed today that the woman had withdrawn her claim to have been a victim of any kind of sexual attack.

Detective Ian Phillips of Darlington CID confirmed the woman had withdrawn her claim yesterday.

He said: "We are no longer looking for the person identified by the 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. Our next course of action will be decided after we have received advice from the CPS."

The woman's claims led police in Darlington to set up an incident room to co-ordinate an investigation.

Officers produced an e-fit picture of the suspected rapist and distributed hundreds of leaflets around the town in a bid to get more information. They also appealed for an old school friend of the victim who she supposedly met in town centre prior to alleged attack.

Hours of CCTV footage, some of it which recorded the victim's movements after leaving Club 2K nightclub, were studied and detectives spoke at length to a number of people who were in the town on the night of incident.