Two policemen went to help a woman who had been attacked late at night - then raped the 23 year old, a court heard on Tuesday.

Married Pc Mark Witcher of Station Road, Drayton, Portsmouth, and Pc Andrew Lang, from Overdale Walk, Whitehill, both in uniform, drove the distressed woman to her home before allegedly forcing themselves upon her in her living room.

The court heard that during the attack, Lang, who was brought up in Passfield, even answered his police radio when he got a call from colleagues at Surrey police control room. He told them he was still searching for a man the woman claimed had attacked her earlier that night.

After finishing with their victim at her home in Godalming, the two officers allegedly left laughing.

The incident only came to light after the officers were heard "bragging" about it at Guildford police station, where they werebased.

A misconduct inquiry was launched and the woman was tracked down by investigating officers, who found her details in both Witcher's and Lang's notebooks.

Winchester Crown Court heard that when university-educated Lang and Witcher, who has a baby daughter, were questioned, they claimed sex had been consensual. Lang also told superiors that it had been the woman's "fantasy" to have sex with two policemen at the same time.

The court heard that the young mother had got out drinking in Godalming on the night of September 19 last year to celebrate a birthday. During the evening, it is alleged that she became "really drunk".

The group of friends went to a Wetherspoons pub before going to a nightclub. After they came out they became involved in an altercation with a group of men which resulted in one of the men hitting the 23 year old on the head and one of her friends called police.

Witcher and Lang, who were on duty that night, attended the incident in a patrol car.

Prosecutor Richard Onslow said: "They asked if anyone would recognise any of the men and the victim said she would, so they told her to get in the police car.

"According to her they were insistent that no one else got in. One of her friends wanted to look after her but the officers said they would take her home.

"This woman was sitting in the back, ostensibly looking for the man that hit her, but if it was a search it didn't go on very long.

"She remembers them driving into the Wetherspoons car park and the two officers getting out and playing with two tennis racquets theyfound.

"She recalls some curious remarks being made by Witcher. She didn't want these remarks, she did not welcome them and she did not expect them."

The officers asked where the woman lived and took her home, where she expected them to take a statement about the assault. When they arrived she was allegedly so drunk that she fell out of the squad car and had to be helped to the door by the officers, who unlocked it and let themselves in.

Once inside, Mr Onslow said that Lang quizzed her about her children and asked if she had a boyfriend or a husband. During the alleged assault, the court heard that the woman was saying 'get off, pack it in' but that had no effect. "She was pulled about as if a rag doll." "At this time a radio went off and she was able to get away for a moment. But Lang pushed her face down into a chair."

The court heard that the woman was again assaulted before the men "went off laughing". The court heard that the pair then returned to Guildford police station and allegedly boasted to a colleague.

The court also heard that in the days that followed, Witcher allegedly told a female officer about the incident. Witcher went on to tell the WPc that he and Lang "got away with murder" because the woman had not complained and they would be "hanged" if she did.

An investigation was launched after rumours of the incident spread through the police station and officers seized notebooks belonging to Witcher and Lang. They traced the woman, who told them what had happened, and they took away her skirt for DNA analysis.

Mr Onslow said that when Lang was interviewed he claimed the woman had been "provocative and seductive". But Mr Onslow added: "She says she gave no consent - they initiated it, they controlled it, they did what they wanted with her with her saying 'no, stop it.'"

He added that Witcher and Lang had allegedly raped and indecently assaulted "a vulnerable drunken victim of crime". They had "seriously dented public confidence in the police as a whole".

The woman wept as told the court that she had been "really, really drunk and dizzy" after downing 12 double vodka and Red Bulls that night. She broke down as she told the jury she kicked and struggled as the rape "went on for ever". She said she was desperate to shout for help but did not want to wake her sleeping children upstairs for fear they would see what was happening to her.

"I made it clearly known that I didn't want any of it and I kept swearing and telling them to stop and I kicked one in the legs."

During her evidence, the weeping woman turned to the judge, the Honourable Mr Justice Gray, and asked him "Please can I stop?" The case was adjourned for 25 minutes.

Witcher denies rape, indecent assault and three charges of misconduct in a public office. Lang also denies rape, indecent assault and three charges of misconduct in a public office. The trial continues.