A manhunt has been launched after the schoolgirl, 16, was raped near the war memorial in Liverpool city center in a brutal early morning attack

Police have launched an emergency manhunt in Liverpool after a schoolgirl was allegedly raped in the city center in the early hours of this morning.

Officers attended St John’s Gardens at around 6pm. 01.50 on April 12, where they found a 16-year-old girl who had been the victim of an assault by an unknown man.

The girl is being supported by specially trained officers and an investigation is currently underway.

Pictures taken at the scene show a police cordon in place near the Gladstone Memorial close to the King’s Liverpool Regiment War Memorial.

Officers attended St John’s Gardens at around 6pm. 01.50 on April 12, where they found a 16-year-old girl who had been the victim of an assault by an unknown man

New CCTV recently installed in St John’s Gardens is currently being examined, police said, and witness inquiries are being carried out.

Detective Inspector Paul Parry said: ‘This is clearly a very shocking incident which has left a young girl very distressed. I want the public to be reassured that we will do everything in our power to find those responsible and bring them to justice and I would urge anyone with information that could assist our inquiries to about making contact as an urgent matter.

‘We believe there were a number of people in the vicinity of St John’s Gardens at the time of this incident who left without speaking to our patrols and I would urge them to come forward and speak to us as information , they have, could be critical in helping us identify the person responsible.

“As part of our inquiry we will be examining the newly installed CCTV cameras in St John’s Gardens along with Liverpool City Council’s CityWatch cameras and will also appeal to any delivery or taxi drivers who were in the area at around 1.30am today for to check it.their dash cam to determine if they caught anything significant.

‘We want people visiting the town center and St John’s Gardens to feel safe and we will continue to provide dedicated high visibility police patrols to deter offenders and educate and protect the public.

“We will also be working with Liverpool City Council’s park patrols to help us increase visibility in the area and as part of the Home Office funding we successfully applied for we will continue to look at new initiatives to increase safety and reduce serious violence.”