Five arrested in connection with brutal gang rape

A woman was raped during a vicious gang attack on two young couples today at a popular lovers lane in the grounds of a stately home.

Four teenagers and another man have been arrested over the brutal assault in the Townley Hall estate on the banks of the river Boyne, near Drogheda, in the early hours of this morning.

The two couples, two men and two women aged in their 20s and from Drogheda, were in the same car when they were approached by the gang at around 4am.

It is alleged that a fight broke out, involving iron bars and sticks, and that one of the women was dragged away from the car by two of the mob into a wooded area, where she was raped.

She was taken to a sexual assault unit in a Dublin hospital for medical treatment, while the other three victims were also treated for injuries.

Medical staff at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda alerted the garda after becoming suspicious when four young men arrived this morning looking for treatment for minor injuries.

The four eastern European men – one aged 17 years and the other three aged 18 years – were arrested at the hospital, while a 22-year-old man was later arrested in the town.

Two are being held at Drogheda Garda station and three at Dundalk Garda station, under section four of the Criminal Justice Act.

All five can be held for up to 24 hours.

Townley Hall is a former stately pile, opposite the well-known Battle of the Boyne site, now a popular beauty spot about 1.5 miles off the M1 outside Drogheda.