EXCLUSIVE: POLICE have arrested a 24-year-old man from the Chippenham area in connection with the rape of a care worker in St Andrew's churchyard.

The arrest was made on Wednesday after a three-week hunt for the rapist. The breakthrough came after police were planning to step up their inquiries.

The man is being questioned at Melksham police station.

But appeals are still being made to people across a wider area covering Bristol and Swindon because the police hope that more witnesses will come forward.

Police have finished trawling through hours of CCTV footage of the town centre recorded on the night of the attack.

PC Fortune said: "Inquiries are continuing in relation to the CCTV footage."

Police are following up information given by customers of the Rose & Crown pub, where the victim had been drinking on the night of the attack.

PC Fortune said: "All the inquiries are ongoing and these can take longer than people expect. We are awaiting the results of forensic evidence." The attack, which police say has left permanent emotional scars on the victim, happened around midnight on Friday September 13.

The 22-year-old careworker has spoken of the bitter hatred she feels for her attacker.

She was walking home from a night out with friends when she was attacked near the church in Chippenham, and taken into the graveyard.

The assault was so violent she had difficulty moving.

Friends called the police, who informed paramedics and an ambulance was sent to the scene.

After an examination at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, she went to Melksham police station.

Police say the events of the night have left her terrified about going out, even during the day and with other people.

The victim has lived in Chippenham for 10 years and all her relatives live in the area, but now she has said she is terrified in her own home.

Friends have been supporting her and making sure she is never left on her own.

She has taken sick leave from work but hopes to return soon when her confidence has improved.