A husband has chopped off the penis of his wife's rapist after seeing her being attacked yards from their home in Ukraine.

The 27-year-old husband was on his way home when he saw the horrific episode in Shevchenkovo, a village in the eastern Kharkiv region.

His wife had left friends at a restaurant at around 1am and was heading to her home just 1,000ft away.

She was walking near her apartment block when a 25-year-old rapist, Dmitry Ivchenko, attacked her from behind.

Dmitry Ivchenko, 25, attacked the woman from behind and dragged her into a bush to carry out the rape before he was halted by her husband

Ivchenko covered her mouth with his hand to prevent her from screaming and dragged her into bushes, police said.

The victim's husband left the party ten minutes later. When he reached their apartment block, he heard noise coming from the bushes.

He came closer to find out what was going on and saw Ivchenko squeezing his wife's throat while raping her.

The husband then attacked the rapist by punching him on the head before grabbing his Swiss army knife and chopping Ivchenko's penis off.

The husband's attorney Dmitry Spaskin said to local media: 'The husband lost the ability to control his actions. He did not understand what he was doing.'

The rapist's screams and the victim's sobbing woke up all the residents in the area who rushed to the scene.

The victim was walking near her apartment block after saying goodbye to friends in a nearby restaurant when she was attacked

Her mother immediately reported Ivchenko to the police while others called an ambulance for him.

Mr Spaskin said: 'After the incident, [the husband] was in a state of shock and just walked away.

'He walked about 13 kilometres and reached a neighbouring village. There he met an acquaintance and asked to drive him to a police station.

'On October 13, at 7am, he handed himself into police and confessed in full.'

The husband was charged with causing grievous bodily harm and put under house arrest.

He said to local media: 'I cannot explain what happened to me at that moment.'

The rapist was hospitalised to Shevchenko District Hospital and underwent surgery.

Sergey Mitrakov, the head of the hospital's surgical unit said: 'The patient needs a long-lasting treatment.'

Doctors have not speculated on the chances to reattach the penis and if the rapist will regain full functionality of the organ.

The husband faces up to eight years in prison if found guilty while the rapist Dmitry Ivchenko faces up to five years

Police have launched a criminal case for rape against the rapist and he remains in hospital under police surveillance.

Snizhana Vodolazska, a spokeswoman for Kupiansk Region Police Department said: 'The suspect caught up with his victim near her apartment block and raped her.'

It is known that Ivchenko is not married and unemployed.

Prosecutor Tetiana Vasileva commented: 'The rapist said that he was dumped by his girlfriend a week ago. On the day of the incident, he drank a litre of vodka. He is refusing to say more so far.'

The female residents of the village have voiced their support for the husband.

Hanna Khaustova said: 'Ivchenko tried to hit on me but I told him to stop. Then he said, "You will regret it".

'I believe any girl from our village could have become his victim. If he had not done it the rapist would have continued to assault girls.'

The husband faces up to eight years in prison if found guilty while the rapist Dmitry Ivchenko faces up to five years.

The rapist's victim requires counselling and a long period of psychological recovery, according to local media.