Eleven men from Kent, aged between 16 and 22, have been arrested after a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in a car park at Bluewater.

The reported incident happened to the woman, in her 20s, on the evening of March 6.

Kent Police have since released a statement regarding the case.

It reads: “Officers from the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate are investigating a report that a woman in her 20s was sexually assaulted in a car park at Bluewater shopping centre in Kent on March 6, between 7pm and 8.30pm.

“Officers promptly identified the suspects and 11 arrests were made. All those arrested were men, aged between 16 and 22 and from Kent. They were all released on bail with conditions while enquiries continued. One of those men has since been released without charge.

“Officers are working to establish the circumstances of the incident, and no charges have so far been made.

“We appreciate the public concern in relation to this incident but would like to reassure members of the public that we have made arrests and at this stage we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the case.

“A full investigation is under way and work to gather evidence continues, but if anyone has any information that they have not brought to our attention we would encourage them to do so.

“This is being treated as an isolated incident, and there are no other incidents that are being linked to this offence.”

Bluewater insists the safety and wellbeing of its staff and guests is of the highest priority.

A spokesman said: “From day one this has been a police matter and therefore we can't and don't comment on an ongoing investigation.

“The safety and wellbeing of our staff and guests is our highest priority.

“Bluewater's security procedures are regularly reviewed and tested, and we have a 24 hour security team and dedicated onsite Kent police officers.

“As well as extensive CCTV across the whole of Bluewater, our car parks are patrolled and we have security vehicles that provide a further visible presence.”