TWO MEN have been found guilty of attempted rape and sexually assaulting a woman following a night out in Southampton.

Southampton Crown Court heard how that the woman went out drinking in the city with her boyfriend and friends, to celebrate a birthday.

The group met at a pub earlier in the evening before going to Oceana nightclub on August 3, 2018.

At some point during the evening, the woman’s friends saw her talking to a group of unknown men inside the nightclub.

She was then spotted in the car park, with two of them.

Her boyfriend called out to her to stop her from getting in the car, however, she was intoxicated and didn’t appear to recognise him.

She then got into the car with the two men, and the car drove off.

The woman woke up naked at the Winston Hotel in Southampton with the two strange men.

The two men, Ramdeen Farooqy, 25, and Pankaj Bangarh, 27, helped her get dressed and guided her out of the hotel with help from the hotel manager.

Upon returning home, the victim told her parents she had been drinking the evening before and had no recollection of being at Oceana.

Furthermore, she feared she may have been sexually assaulted.

After a two-week trial, Farooqy, of Arundel Drive in Harrow, London, and Bangarh, of Halsway in Hayes, Hillingdon, were both found guilty of attempted rape and sexual assault.

They are due to be sentenced at Southampton Crown Court tomorrow.

Detective Constable Sue Hampton from Operation Amberstone said: “This was undoubtedly a traumatic ordeal for the woman concerned and I cannot praise her enough for the courage and bravery she has shown in coming forward and reporting what happened to her and for the strength, she has shown throughout the trial.

“We know it’s incredibly difficult to report incidents of this nature but with her help, we have been able to secure guilty verdicts and bring these two men to justice.

“We worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service throughout this investigation to build a strong case to present to a jury and secure convictions.

“I hope this outcome offers a degree of comfort to the woman and goes some way to help her move on in her life.

“I really hope that this case shows people that no matter the circumstances, Hampshire Constabulary is committed to supporting survivors of rape and sexual assault and we will do everything we can to identify offenders and put them in front of a court.

“In cases such as these, we work in partnership with the Independent Sexual Violence Advocate Service, Yellow Door to ensure adequate support is available to victims throughout investigations. We hope that the strength of this partnership working alongside convictions like this, encourage victims to come forward and report their experiences to us.”