Ref. 2958/4 L-R: Michael Gibbs & Daniel WardA WOMAN broke down uncontrollably as she relived the moment she says two men stripped and raped her in a Valentine's Day attack.

The 21-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, sobbed as she told how Michael Gibbs, 27, and Daniel Ward, 25, took her trousers and bra off while they were sat on a settee in a dimly lit house before raping her.

Judge Keith Cutler had to temporarily halt proceedings at Swindon Crown Court yesterday when the woman described how Gibbs had tried to undo her trousers while Ward was kissing her.

The woman had been for a night out in Swindon with a girlfriend in February last year when she ran into Ward, of North Wall, Cricklade, who she had met in a nightclub some months previously.

She told the court she thought the four would share a taxi once they had left Edwards' bar in the town centre.

But she became separated from her friend and walked outside with Ward and Gibbs, of The Willows in Highworth. Both deny rape.

The woman said she assumed her friend would follow her out of the bar, but when she did not appear Ward pretended to speak to her on the phone and said they would all meet up later. The trio then got in a taxi.

Under the guidance of prosecutor Susan Evans, and giving evidence behind a screen to protect her anonymity, she said it was in the back of the cab that Ward told her "I don't want any nonsense from you you know I like you".

She said: "That made me feel nervous."

Once inside a house, the woman said she was becoming agitated because Gibbs and Ward would not let her ring her friend.

She said: "I was starting to feel a bit worried at this point because they would not let me ring. Gibbs put his hand on my leg and Daniel tried to kiss me.

"I was saying no trying to push their arms back I tried to move myself forward off the sofa, but I couldn't.

"I just felt conscious they were undoing my trousers and I didn't want them to do that.

"I was leaning forward to pull my trousers up, but my bra fell down to my elbows and it came off one arm. Then I got pushed back onto the sofa."

The court heard how after her ordeal she got a taxi back to her friend's house, but was so worn out after fighting and struggling, that she just wanted to go to sleep and forget about it.

Her friend rang the Samaritans and they later visited the NHS Walk-in Centre in Carfax Street because of fears about pregnancy.

After lunch Ward's defence counsel, Peter Fortune, began his cross-examination during which time he told the court the woman was taking antidepressants and drinking, but the woman said: "I knew what I was doing that night and I knew I said no."

The case continues.

Giles Sheldrick