Woman, 18, becomes youngest convicted of rape

A teenage woman, who pinned a woman to the ground during a prolonged sex attack in London, has been found guilty of rape.

Claire Marsh, 18, is thought to be the youngest of the few females ever to be convicted of such an offence in Britain.

She punched the 37-year-old victim in the face, called her a slag and then ripped off her top before she was gang-raped on a canal towpath.

A 15-year-old boy then ripped her trousers off and forced the woman to have sex.

Others in the 14-strong group - one aged just 12 - stood around and shouted encouragement as the attack continued shortly after midnight.

When the first youth had finished, Marvin Edwards, 18, also raped her, London's Blackfriars Crown Court was told.

Eventually the victim, who had earlier been hurled into the Grand Union Canal in Ladbroke Grove, struggled free from her attackers, got to her feet and ran off.