Anti-rape unit begins operations

A DEDICATED rape investigation unit has been set up in Scotland's biggest city following a string of attacks on women.

The unit will comprise ten specialist officers, headed by a detective inspector.

Strathclyde Police said 100 officers are patrolling the streets in Glasgow city centre on Friday and Saturday nights in the wake of the recent attacks.

In the latest incident, a young woman was raped in Gibson Street, a student area in the West End, after returning home from a nightclub.

The 23-year-old had been out with friends at the Garage on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, and was attacked when she arrived home.

In a separate development, two teenagers aged 14 and 16 have been arrested in connection with the alleged rape of a woman in a city-centre lane.

The 38-year-old, who had been on a night out with friends, was on her way home when the incident happened on 11 February in Renfrew Lane.

Detective Chief Inspector David Halliday said he was "100 per cent" certain there is not a serial attacker in the city.

The detective called for calm and said police were working hard to trace the attackers.

He said: "No stone will be left unturned. The impact rape has is absolutely massive. I will do everything to ensure a conviction."