Three illegal immigrants were in custody in Paris today after a teenager was found tied up and gagged after allegedly being gang raped underneath the Eiffel Tower.

The horrifying attack took place after the 19-year-old was lured on a Facebook 'date' in the French capital.

She responded to messages from who she thought was a 17-year-old Tunisian boy and initially met him close to her home in the Paris suburbs.

But last Sunday night she turned up at the Champs des Mars, the public park where the Eiffel Tower is situated, and was attacked.

People stroll in the Champ de Mars garden near the Eiffel Tower, beside the spot where a woman was allegedly raped earlier this week, in Paris

'It was a warm night, and she expected to eat strawberries and grapes, and to drink Coke, but then the attack took place,' said a source close to the case.

The woman was dragged underneath a bush, where a blanket had been laid out. She was assaulted by the men, and then gagged, beaten and tied up.

Neither the victim, who is said to have recently ran away from her mother's home in the Paris suburbs, nor the alleged attackers can be named for legal reasons.

A couple out jogging early on Monday morning heard the victim making a muffled sobbing noise, and were able to raise the alarm.

They found the woman in deep shock, naked and crying.

Police used computer data to quickly trace the three men to a hotel in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, where they were caught while trying to flee to Germany on Monday.

None had any official papers, and all claimed they were 17-year-olds from Tunisia, seeking asylum.

However, early checks suggest that they are likely to be a lot older, and possibly from Algeria.

'An enquiry is underway to try and work out exactly who they are, and what they were doing in France,' said the same source.

All the men deny rape, saying they were involved in a 'consensual adult relationship' with the woman.

The three men have been remanded in custody as prosecutors and police continue a rape investigation.