A CARE worker who was raped on a tombstone in a Chippenham churchyard has spoken for the first time of her horrific ordeal.

The 22-year-old has been left so traumatised by the attack in St Andrew's Churchyard two weeks ago that she is terrified to go out or remain alone in her home.

She said she felt hatred towards her attacker and advised other women never to walk alone late at night.

The woman had spent the evening of the attack, on Friday, September 13, with friends at the Rose and Crown pub in Chippenham and left on her own around midnight to get a taxi home.

But the rest is a blur. "I don't remember going any further than Chas Hart Jewellers," she said. "The next thing I remember is that I was in the churchyard being attacked."

Throughout the assault the victim was screaming but no one went to help her. "He kept telling me to shut up and I kept screaming louder," she said.

"My hands couldn't even touch the ground because he had me pinned to a tombstone.

"I was still screaming after he had gone and my friends said they could hear me before they could see me."

The first person she contacted was her ex-boyfriend. He rang her friends, who were first on the scene, and the police .

The victim said: "I was in a lot of pain. When all my friends arrived they dragged me from the churchyard. They had to literally pick me up because I could not move.

"I don't remember much after my friends arrived but I know I was taken to the Royal United Hospital in Bath."

The traumatic events of the night have left her terrified of going out, even during the day with other people.

"I walked into the Porter Blacks in the afternoon the other day when it was empty and I still panicked then," she said.

The victim, who has lived in Chippenham for ten years, is now even terrified in her own home. "I thought I would feel safe on my own in the house, but when my little cousin went out I had to lock all the doors," she said.

Friends have been supporting her and making sure that she is never left on her own. She said the police had also been very supportive.

"The police have been great. I did not think they could be like that."

She is angry and hurt that anyone could do this to her and said she hoped that one day she could get her confidence back.

"After the attack I was in shock and my injuries were so painful that it blocked out a lot of what had happened. But now I feel hurt and I hate the man that attacked me as he has taken my pride away," she said.

"I can't sleep at night and I am on sleeping tablets. I hope that one day I will not be scared when I go out but I am never going into the Rose and Crown again."

She said that she thought she could take care of herself but has realised that this is not true. "I would advise other women to always go out in a large group and never go on your own," she added.

Police questioned people outside the Rose and Crown on Friday evening in the hope of gaining information from people who had been in the pub the night of the attack.

"We had a good response and we did receive new information that we are following up," said DC Jo Spencer, who is investigating the attack.

Police are still examining footage from CCTV cameras across the town centre as well as forensic evidence.

The anonymous caller who came forward with information the day after the attack contacted police again after they appealed for him to come forward.

"We are still appealing for the public to come forward with any information no matter how insignificant they think it is," said DC Spencer.