British teenager suffers horrifying sexual assault attack by '30 Bangladeshi men' during 'nightmare' trip to Italy

The student, who has waived her right to anonymity, was separated from her group when multiple men began groping her and attempting to pull up her dress.

"They held my arms, my hands. I couldn't defend myself," she told Belgian media and MailOnline in a testimony shared earlier today.

The teen was attacked whilst celebrating with friends near Milan's cathedral

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"Multiple men, at once, began to grope me, whilst another attempted to pull up my dress," Imogen said.

"As I panicked, and fought for freedom, it became apparent that they enjoyed my distress and this only excited my attackers," she added.

An unknown liquid was thrown over her, stinging her eyes and nose and Imogen was left bleeding from injuries as she fought back against her assailants.

"Every man I passed, around 40, made some attempt to grope me, pull up my dress, separate me from my friends or fight me," she recalled.

One man attempted to sexually assault her with his hands, while another mentioned rape.

During her escape attempt, Imogen heard the screams of another English woman nearby who was also being held and sexually assaulted. Despite her own ordeal, she bravely tried to help the other victim, who managed to break free.

The attackers then turned their attention back to Imogen, but the commotion caused the crowd to disperse enough for her to escape with her friends.

Their relief was short-lived as the assailants caught up with them again, grabbing at Imogen's body while laughing.

The group desperately searched for police, which finally caused the attackers to retreat. "Yet we were still not free," Imogen said, describing how she suffered a panic attack during a brief moment of respite.

Imogen has spoken out to correct misinformation circulating about the attack.

"It is a total, blatant lie, to claim that our group were attacked by men holding Palestinian flags," she told Belgian media outlet Sudinfo. "I am so upset after reading many articles that claim it was a matter of religion, indirectly blaming Islam."

"The evil we experienced that night was the absolute absence of religion. Those men had no motive but to take advantage of innocent women."

She emphasised that the attack should not be used to divide people. "This was an organised group of disgusting men, who deserve to suffer the consequences of their actions."

Imogen stressed that the incident was not a reflection of any particular community.

When Imogen and her friends finally located police officers, they initially claimed there was "nothing that they could do."

Their response changed when shown her bloodied injuries and told of the sexual assaults.

The traumatic experience has deeply affected her confidence and faith in humanity (Stock Picture)

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The gang were revealed by police to be Bangladeshi men. A female officer later consoled Imogen, explaining it was "a known problem" involving Bangladeshi men.

Milan prosecutors have opened an investigation into the assaults, which also targeted Belgian students in the group, and Imogen is now filing a legal complaint through the Italian embassy in England.

Investigators are speaking with other women to understand the full scale of the attacks. Three out of four girls in the mixed British-Belgian group were sexually assaulted that night.

Imogen has now returned to the UK and is resuming her university studies in northern England.

The traumatic experience has deeply affected her confidence and faith in humanity. "I am broken-hearted to have to fight this battle at the very beginning of my adult life," she said.

Imogen is determined to raise awareness about what happened that night.

She emphasised the kindness shown by locals who helped them walk home after the incident.

"I will not allow my sexual attack to become an opportunity to divide people – it is a moment to unite women, and the people of Italy," she said.