RAPE victims face a postcode lottery in the way they are dealt with after an attack, according to a women's equality group.

But Swindon emerges well from the report. It is one of only seven areas in the country to have a specialist Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

Women's equality group the Fawcett Society said that latest Government figures showed that only 5.8 per cent of rapes reported to the police lead to a conviction, a fall of 1.2 per cent. Taw Hill Medical Centre on Queen Elizabeth Drive is the base for The Sanctuary which provides a place of safety for victims of sexual assault.

The unit allows victims to be examined by a police surgeon in a medical environment.

Police surgeon Dr Peter Couch, who runs the centre in the town, said: "Swindon is leading the way in this area. In many other places, people who have been subjected to a sexual assault are treated more like a witness and have to go to a police station to be examined. The Sanctuary, being based in a doctors' surgery means that the victim can be treated more like a patient.

"It is our hope that if victims of rape or assault know they will be treated in this kind of environment, they will be more willing to come forward."

The crime figures revealed that the number of rapes reported to police rose 27 per cent last year to 11,441. The report said that specialist centres for rape victims improve conviction rates. and recommended that should be set up across Britain, backed up by a national 24-hour rape crisis helpline.

The seven Sexual Assault Referral Centres are in Manchester, Northumberland, Lancashire, Leicester, Swindon, Cambridgeshire and London.