A woman has relived her terrifying ordeal after her friend was sexually assaulted after a night out by a man they thought was their taxi driver.

One of the three mates, who had gone to Maidstone for a birthday celebration, was sexually assaulted on the way back to their homes in the Medway Towns.

When they left in the early hours of Sunday morning, they got into a “smart black car” outside the town centre venue and were taken to a church car park, where the assault is alleged to have taken place.

One of the group, a woman in her 20s, alleges that while two of them got out she remained inside to look for her phone.

She told the Messenger: “I was asking for it [her phone] and he drove off with me in the car without my friends.

'He stopped the car and told me if I didn’t get out, he would take me to London. I am a strong person, but I was scared.'

“It was pitch black and I did not really know where I was going as I don’t know Maidstone.

“I called the police from my Apple watch and he stopped the car and told me if I didn’t get out, he would take me to London. I am a strong person, but I was scared.”

The former university student, from Chatham, said: “I have been living in London for the past few years and never had any trouble. I now feel safer there than I do in Maidstone.

“I want to protect other girls and warn them not to get in a car until they double check who is driving them.

“It could have been so much worse. I am still a bit shaken up.”

Police spokesman Andy Saunders said: “We were called at 3.53am on Sunday, August 11, when it was reported that a woman had been sexually assaulted in the Maidstone area after getting into a vehicle with two friends. An investigation is ongoing to identify the vehicle and driver.”

Read more: All the latest news from Medway

Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone