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A schoolgirl was raped twice after police failed to intervene when they found her drunk in the clutches of one of her attackers, it has been claimed.

An investigation was under way last night as it was revealed two officers responding to reports of a couple having sex in an alcove in full view of passers-by had spoken to her.

They advised the 17-year-old to go home – but left her with Darren Carr, one of two predators jailed this week for raping her in a four-hour ordeal in a busy city centre.

The full details of the incident emerged after Carr, 26, and Edward Fowler, 25, were each sentenced to seven and a half years.

A court heard how the girl could barely stand when she was asked to leave Digital nightclub in Times Square, Newcastle.

She was taken by a stranger to a nearby alleyway, where they had sex despite the area being packed with late night revellers.

The stranger was then approached by Carr, who asked if he could “have a go on her”.

The man replied that he could do what he liked because it “wasn’t his lass”.

He then left the victim alone with Carr, who raped her.

At this point Carr was approached by the two patrol officers, who had been alerted to “people having sex in Times Square”.

They spoke with the girl, but left her with Carr without taking any further action.

At 2am, dad-of-two Fowler arrived on the scene. CCTV footage showed the teenage girl being half dragged, half carried by him and Carr to the city’s Forth Banks, where she was then raped by Fowler.

After he left, Carr stayed with her at a car park for almost two hours until she managed to run for help early on October 14 last year.

Fowler and Carr, both from Newcastle admitted rape at the city’s crown court. The first man seen having sex with the girl had the rape charge against him dropped.

Elected Northumbria Police Commissioner Vera Baird has demanded a full report from Chief Constable Sue Sim into the police’s initial handling of the incident.

Ex-Labour MP Ms Baird, a former Solicitor General appointed by Gordon Brown, said: “If there are lessons to be learned, I will ensure that action is taken.”

Police insist there was nothing to suggest that the girl was at risk when she was first approached by officers.

But Ms Baird said: “Legally, any female or male, who is as drunk as everyone says this teenager was, has not got the capacity to consent to sex.

“So officers, who know that a man has just had sex with a woman in the street, should take a great deal of notice of her condition. It is a worrying incident.”

Judge Esmond Faulks told Carr and Fowler: “You took advantage of a vulnerable and defenceless girl in the most humiliating of circumstances. The psychological damage you have caused will be severe.”

Northumbria police said: “We’re satisfied the officers’ actions were appropriate to the circumstances.”