A teenager who insists she was raped three years ago is reviving her battle for justice after being told the attack did not happen.

Police who investigated the woman's original claims in 1999 believed her story but said there was not enough evidence to press charges.

Now the woman known as Miss A, who was 15 at the time, has taken the brave step of breaking her silence to The Argus, saying she has been left with nowhere else to turn.

MP Des Turner has taken up the case asking why no police statement was taken from the woman's best friend, who was in the room at the time of the attack.

Miss A, now 19, has been stirred back into action after the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, which makes payments to victims of crime, turned down her application saying "on the balance of probabilities" she was not a victim of rape. Sussex Police said the case remained open and any new information could lead to further action.

Miss A told The Argus: "I know exactly what happened to me. They don't. In effect I'm being told I made it all up."

She said the attack took place on January 29, 1999, after her friend invited another friend to her home for a quiet evening watching TV.