A YOUNG North-East rape victim bravely spoke out last night in a bid to catch the sex beast who subjected her to a horrific attack in a town centre park.

The 21-year-old told The Northern Echo of her attack and how it had affected her life.

Rachel, not her real name, was raped in a Darlington park in the early hours of Saturday, October 7. Her attacker has yet to be found.

Last night, she told how she met the rapist outside the Plastered Parrot club in the town.

She said: "I was with my sister and we had been round a couple of pubs in the town.

"I had been drinking, and I tripped over outside the Plastered Parrot. This lad came over to us and started chatting. He seemed nice enough."

The man, in his early 20s, walked the girls to the Mardi Gras, in Gladstone Street, and paid for them all to go in.

She said: "He stayed with us in the club, and bought us a drink. My sister went off to dance with some friends, and he stayed with me. We were just chatting. He started asking me if he could come home with me. I said no."

Rachel began to feel ill, and decided to leave the club, after less than an hour in the man's company, and make her way home on her own. CCTV footage from outside the club shows her leaving and, seconds later, the man wanted for the attack following her.

She said: "I never normally go through North Lodge Park when I go home, but I just really wanted to get home. I didn't know he was behind me.

"When I got into the park I realised he was there, but at that point I still wasn't really scared. He kept asking me to come back to my house, and I kept saying no."

Rachel said she then kissed him, which she now regrets.

She said: "I really wish I hadn't done it. After we had kissed he tripped me up and I fell down on to the ground at the side of the path. Then he pinned me down. I kept asking him to leave me alone, and to get off of me."

Despite her desperate pleas, the man raped her.

After her ordeal, she ran out of the North Lodge Terrace entrance and then asked three girls to give her a lift home.

Since the attack, Rachel has found it difficult to sleep, and is having to take sedatives.

"Every time I close my eyes, I see his face," she said. "It's awful. All my friends and family have been brilliant, staying with me. They are all really angry this has happened to me.

"I just keep thinking: why did I kiss him, why didn't I walk home with my friends?

"I keep thinking, I shouldn't have worn a skirt. I'll never wear one again now."

Rachel now faces the prospect of trying to rebuild her life.

She said: "I'm frightened to be out on my own, and I won't go out after dark. Every time I see someone coming down the same side of the road as me, I cross over.

"The only way I'll get over this is if he is caught. Once I know he is behind bars, I'll feel safer. I don't want this to happen to anyone else either.

"I want to see him locked up forever, in fact I'd like to see him dead.

"If anyone knows who he is, or thinks they know him, I would ask them to come forward."

Police have released a photofit of the man, who was wearing light trousers and a black or navy blue Adidas-type top. They targeted the clubs last weekend to appeal to clubbers for information.

Anyone with information should contact DC Debbie Morrison on (01325) 467681.