A teenage boy has been arrest on suspicion of rape after an incident involving a 15-year-old girl in a Hitchin field late last night.

The 17-year-old boy from Hitchin was arrested in the early hours of this morning and remains in police custody after reports of an alleged rape in a field near Cadwell Lane just before midnight.

The 15-year-old girl is being supported by officers from Herts police’s specialist sexual offences investigation team while investigations continue.

A police cordon was in place this morning but has since been removed.

A police spokeswoman said: “Anyone who was in the area at the time and saw anything which could assist the investigation is asked to contact Herts police on the non-emergency number 101.

“Officers would like to reassure the public an incident of this nature is unusual.”