CCTV footage shows man carrying woman across Birmingham road minutes before raping her

Police have praised the courage of the woman

Police have praised the courage of a woman who has agreed to release CCTV footage of the man suspected of carrying her across a road minutes before she was raped.

The footage shows the man carrying the near unconscious 25-year-old woman across Tennant Street in Birmingham.

Minutes later she was raped, West Midlands Police say.

As part of the investigation, police want to talk to a key witness called Kevin, who is thought to have dwarfism.

Police say the woman and Kevin left the Walkabout bar on Broad Street at 4am, and were walking along Broad Street towards Granville Street when a man spoke to Kevin before scooping the woman into his arms and carrying her off.

Detective Constable Danette Calvey, from West Midlands Police’s Public Protection Unit, said: "There will undoubtedly be people who will watch these images and wrongly judge the woman. It must be remembered that this woman has been attacked and that she has displayed remarkable courage by allowing us to release the footage.

"She hopes that these new images may jog someone’s memory and that their call may make the difference to her attacker being caught or left to roam the streets.

"I implore people to take a good look at the CCTV and focus on the man. Do you recognise him? Were you in the area around the time of the attack? I appreciate it was a long time ago but the situation will have looked very odd and will undoubtedly have stayed with you.

"I would also appeal to the man in the footage to call me. Please, come forward now. This is your chance to explain."

Those with information are urged to contact West Midlands Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.