A MAN has been arrested after a woman was found lying in the road in Southampton city centre.

Detectives launched a suspected rape inquiry after the 19-year-old was found in a distressed state in a road near Hoglands Park.

The 19-year-old victim has told officers that she was assaulted at an address in the city in the early hours of Saturday morning.

As part of their investigation, police would like to speak to several key witnesses who they believe saw the victim and spoke to her before she reported the attack to police.

Detectives stressed none of the people being sought are implicated in the offence in any way.

Det Cons Jon Davies said: “The first person we need to trace is a taxi driver who picked up a couple - a white woman and a black man - together in the Onslow Road area between 12am and 2am on Saturday morning. The woman was in her late teens and the man in his early twenties.

“They only had a small amount of cash on them and we believe he dropped them in the Six Dials area.”

The victim has told police that she was spoken to by two men, believed to be Polish, after the alleged attack. It is them who are thought to have helped the victim out of the road and to a bus stop sometime between 1am and 4am.

Det Con Davies has also appealed for a couple who spoke to the victim in St Mary's Street and asked her if she was alright to get in touch with police.

“Any piece of information they have, no matter how small it may seem, may help us with our inquiry,” he added.

A 23-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of rape and bailed until September.

Anyone with any information should contact Det Con 3758 Jon Davies at Southampton Central police station on 101, or call the anonymous Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.