The alleged abduction of a 14-year-old girl in Oxford did not take place, police have said.

The girl reported she had been taken from the street while walking to school in the Summertown area of the city in September and later raped.

Police said today that they are continuing to investigate the girl's rape claim, but do not believe she was kidnapped from the street.

The Thames Valley force said they have carried out a 'through examination' of CCTV, dashcam footage and witness statements.

A spokesman said: 'We can confirm that the evidence gathered indicates that the reported abduction did not take place.'

Police officers stood guard near City schools in the days after the girl made her claims

Forensic experts spent hours at the wooded area where the girl said she was raped

Despite ruling out the abduction, the spokesman added: 'Thames Valley Police continue to investigate an offence of rape against the victim and are following all lines of enquiries to establish what has taken place.

'Specially trained officers and staff from the police, Oxfordshire County Council Children's Services, Health and other agencies continue to work with the victim, at her pace.'

The schoolgirl told police she was walking to school when she was snatched from the street before being driven away and raped in the car by two men on Wednesday, September 28.

The alleged victim said she was grabbed near a busy crossroads by a man who pushed her into the car where an accomplice waited, detectives said. She said her ordeal lasted around four hours.

She raised the alarm by knocking on doors in a housing estate. Later, based on her descriptions, police released e-fits on the suspects they were looking for but did not find them.

In the aftermath of the claims, schools urged their pupils to walk in groups as police stepped up patrols.

Descriptions of two white men in their late teens or early 20s, one with a Northern accent, followed on October 1.

But it was not until ten days after the incident that e-fits of two suspects were issued.

Police released these two e-fits of the men alleged to have carried out the offences

The manhunt came just three days after a 19-year-old woman was sexually assaulted by two men in the early hours as she walked home from a night out in nearby Headington.

Thames Valley Police investigated possible links between the attacks and said a 'small silver hatchback' - possibly a Volkswagen - held the key to finding the two white men who carried out the rape.

Forensic teams also spent days combing a wooded area close to the housing estate where she was found at Marston village, looking for clues and forensic evidence.

The girl, who was described as 'extremely traumatised', said she stumbled through the woods - where triple killer Jed Allen was found hanged after murdering three members of his family in Didcot last year - after escaping from her attackers.

The girl said she was snatched near a doctor's surgery before being driven to a quiet spot where she was raped by both men in the car.

The girl claimed she was found after knocking on doors in this street in Oxford in September

Announcing the development, a police spokesman said officers were ‘no longer looking for the small silver hatchback vehicle’.

Local Police Commander for Oxford City, Supt Joe Kidman said today: 'This incident has understandably caused a great deal of community concern.

'Attacks such as initially reported are mercifully rare and will always be treated extremely seriously and thoroughly investigated.

'In the weeks after the incident higher visibility patrols were in place to provide reassurance and gather information. We have worked with schools in the area on their security plans and are ready to respond to concerns raised.

'Working with vulnerable and young victims is an extremely complex and lengthy process and it is paramount that they are protected appropriately.'

On October 12, a rape survivor waived her anonymity and read an open letter on camera, offering support to the girl.