Tourist raped in Greek cave

A BRITISH tourist in Greece has been held captive, robbed, beaten up and repeatedly raped after being abducted while sightseeing.

The 46-year-old woman, a civil servant from London, was walking to the ancient site of Aristotle's school at Naousa, about 50 miles west of Thessaloniki, on the northern Greek mainland, when she was grabbed by three men and dragged into a cave.

The men, who were Albanian, stole her bank card, and punched and kicked her until she gave them her personal identification number which was used to withdraw cash.

Two of the men left to use the card, while a third stayed behind as a guard. But the woman managed to escape when he fell asleep and found a policeman.

Police found the man, identified as 23-year-old Arian Koku, still asleep when they arrived at the cave. During questioning he identified the two other men as 27-year-old Ren Rina and 25-year-old Regim Rena, according to reports. Last night police were searching for the pair.

The woman had been in Greece since 27 August. She was taken to a hospital near Thessaloniki. Nikolas Voutsinos, a doctor at the hospital, said: "She is in a generally good condition." The woman was released from hospital yesterday morning, he added.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "She has been receiving hospital treatment and is as well as can be expected." Her family in Britain has been informed.

Police were last night said to be investigating other robberies in the area, and also whether the three men have accomplices. They say they are anxious to find out if tourists have been targeted.

Koku was due to appear before a prosecutor yesterday.