RAPISTS can now be traced from forensic evidence taken from victims up to a week after an attack.

Wiltshire police and South Swindon MP Julia Drown have joined forces to reassure rape victims they can come forward to make a complaint even if several days have passed since the attack.

Police officers from around the county visited the specialist Swindon Sanctuary victim help centre for a training event given by Mary Newton, the sexual offences liaison representative from the national Forensic Science Service.

She has developed an early evidence recovery kit and Wiltshire Constab-ulary is one of the first police forces in the country to use it.

Ms Drown, who has campaigned for a change in the law to make it easier to convict rapists, toured the centre, whose exact location is never disclosed.