AN 18-year-old has been charged with two counts of rape following an incident in Eastham on Sunday morning.

Luke Patten, of Bridle Road, Eastham has also been charged with two counts of assault.

He will appear at Wirral magistrates court on Tuesday morning.

Police were called to the junction of Raeburn Avenue and Elgar Avenue at around 4.30am after reports that a man had been assaulted.

On arrival, officers found three males – aged 17, 18 and 19 – with facial and head injuries.

They also found a 17-year-old girl who had been subjected to a serious sexual assault.

All four received medical treatment and the 19-year-old remains in hospital at the present time. The girl is also receiving on-going support from the force's specialist Unity Team.

All four people had been socialising with friends in the area that night and all reported having been attacked by the same individual as they walked home.

A search and enquiries were undertaken in the local area resulting in an 18-year-old man being arrested in connection with the incident that morning.

The scene has been cordoned off for examination and house-to-house enquiries are on-going in the area.