Two 10-year-old boys were charged tonight with raping an eight-year-old girl.

The alleged sex attack relates to an incident in a park off College Way, Hayes, west London, in October.

Scotland Yard said the pair would appear before magistrates in Uxbridge tomorrow.

Police said it was fairly rare for someone so young to be accused of rape, but there have been similar cases in recent years. In March, it was reported that an eight-year old boy became the youngest person to be questioned by police on suspicion of rape.

The boy was held after a girl aged under 10 claimed he had attacked her, but detectives who questioned him were powerless to arrest or charge the boy because of his age.

Children under the age of 10 are not considered to have reached an age where they can be held responsible for their crimes. A Met police spokesman said the charges were made following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service.

In 2004, 12-year-old Kyle Abdo became Britain's youngest-known rapist after he was convicted of attacking a nine-year-old girl. Abdo, who was 11 at the time of the incident, attacked the girl during a game of hide-and-seek at his home. In that case, the judge lifted naming restrictions.

In February last year, a boy who admitted raping a seven-year-old girl when he was 11 became one of the youngest children to be convicted of the offence in Britain. The boy who could be named for legal reasons, carried out the attack during a drunken truth-or-dare game, a court was told. The boy drank four cans of lager and two miniature bottles of vodka before the assault.