British backpacker 'held captive for two months and repeatedly raped' in Australian outback

A young British backpacker was allegedly raped repeatedly, beaten and throttled during a harrowing two month road trip hostage ordeal in Australia.

The 22-year-old woman, from Liverpool, was rescued on Sunday after walking into a petrol station in Queensland visibly injured and crying and "shaking uncontrollably."

She was later pulled in a routine traffic stop after failing to pay for petrol at the garage in the outback about 600km from Brisbane.

According to police she was found "terrified and injured" behind the wheel of the car. She had fractures to her face and strangulation marks to her neck.

A man who appeared to be “hiding” in the back of the vehicle was arrested.

The man was found hiding in the back of the vehicle, police said
Sarah Dionysius/NRM

She told officers she had met the man at a party in Cairns. He had been holding her ever since, she said.

The many damaged and invalidated her passport, possibly to prevent her escape, police said.

The vehicle stopped by police
Sarah Dionysius/NRM

The man, also 22, from a Cairns suburb is facing more than 20 charges, including four counts of rape, eight counts of assault, four of strangulation, two of deprivation of liberty, and one charge of obstruct police.

Officers believe they saved the woman's life after arresting the suspect who was found hiding under clothes in a small alcove in the rear of the vehicle, which they had been travelling around the state in since January 2.

The man was found hiding under a pile of clothes, police said
Sarah Dionysius/NRM

Detective Inspector Paul Hart, of Queenland Police, told a press conference: "Police were really just attending a routine job in relation to a driver that was unable to pay for petrol."

But they noticed she had various injuries and was "overly alarmed" by the officers' presence when they pulled her over in Warrego Highway, Mitchell, around 300 miles from the east coast city of Brisbane.

"She advised that over a period of weeks she had been held against her will by the male person located in the vehicle," the officer said.

Paul Hart speaks during a media conference at the Toowoomba Police Station in Queensland, Australia
REUTERS

"It was established they had previously had a relationship but at some point it had soured and he basically deprived her of her liberty and committed a number of offences against her as they travelled around the state.

"What she has experienced is no doubt horrific and terrifying and we commend her for taking the opportunity to speak to our police."

The car in which the suspect and the woman were found by police
Sarah Dionysius/NRM

The woman's injuries did not require surgery and police said she has made contact with family in the UK.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are supporting a British woman following an incident in Queensland and remain in contact with the local authorities."=

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