A British widow who was gang-raped by up to eight men after being drugged while on holiday has flown out to Italy to confront the men in court.

The 50-year-old, from Kent, faced down five suspects aged between 18 and 21 at a pre-trial court hearing this week where she told judges: 'I recognise all of them.'

The men all claim the sex was consensual. The trial is due to start this autumn.

A British tourist has described how she was gang-raped by up to ten men after her drink was spiked during a break in Sorrento (pictured) Italy

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has previously spoken of her ordeal, claiming there were 'at least ten of them, all naked and all young' and that she had been 'taken into a room while I was under the effect of a drug'.

'It was as if I was having an out of body experience. I felt as if I had no control over what was happening,' said the British holidaymaker, who was in Italy with her daughter at the time.

She said one of the men 'had a crown tattoo on his neck'.

She was so distressed by the attack that she did not report the incident until her return to Britain where blood tests revealed traces of a date-rape drug.

Arrest warrants were issued after the discovery of a group chat called 'bad habits' where some of the men allegedly shared images of the attack.

The 50-year-old, from Kent, was on holiday at a seaside hotel in Sorrento, southwestern Italy in October 2016 when she was subjected to the horrifying sex attack

Officers named the five men as Antonino Miniero, Gennaro Davide Gargiulo, Fabio De Virgilio, Raffaele Regio and Francesco D'Antonio.

The woman's ordeal began when she went to the bar of her hotel with her daughter, 25, and the pair were given drinks by two men working there, Reppublica reports.

Investigators say the drinks were laced with date-rape drugs.

Police were led to the suspects using a photograph of the bartenders taken by the woman and the crown tattoo which she remembered seeing on one of their necks.

The discovery of the group chat led to the identification of more suspects, it is reported, though it was not possible to identify all of those involved.

Sorrento is a popular tourist destination in the south of Italy for its views of the Bay of Naples and access to the Amalfi Coast and island of Capri.

According to The Sun, Mayor Giuseppe Cuomo said: 'This is a very serious incident which darkens our region. I hope that those arrested will cooperate with the police and we are all deeply shocked and saddened by what happened.'