Belfast police investigate rape of Dublin student

A student from Dublin who was raped in Belfast is the latest victim of a series of violent sex attacks in the city's university…

A student from Dublin who was raped in Belfast is the latest victim of a series of violent sex attacks in the city's university area.

The woman (19) was seized after leaving a bar close to Queen's. She had been with a group of friends on a field trip to Northern Ireland.

According to a Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesperson, she was attacked between 12.30 and 2.30 a.m. on Sunday somewhere between University Street and a hostel on Donegall Road.

The woman later returned to the Republic after treatment, but police in Belfast have kept contact as part of their inquiries. Anyone with information relating to the attack is asked to call the police in Belfast on +44 2890 650222.

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Police said there was nothing to link the rape to other assaults on young women. Chief Inspector Will Kerr said: "At this stage, there is nothing to suggest the same person is involved or that it was drug assisted".

With up to 20,000 people socialising in clubs, bars and restaurants every weekend in the university and Botanic areas of south Belfast, police are preparing to help introduce a scheme to try and create a safer environment.

Increasing levels of assault, drunkenness and public disorder in the city, which is bidding to become the 2008 European Capital of Culture, has alarmed police and city councillors.