A WOMAN who says she was groomed, abused and raped by a gang of men in Worcester has defended her actions after several people urged her to name and shame her abusers.

Sam Herron, 26, says she cannot reveal the names of the men responsible as she does not know who they are, as she was a child at the time of the abuse.

She said: “Lots of people have emailed me and messaged me saying I should name and shame the men who did it but I can’t.

“I can’t name and shame the men as I don’t know what they were called. I’m not hiding the fact of their names, I just don’t know them.”

Miss Herron came forward earlier this week when she told the Worcester News of her ordeal, suffered while she was in care in the city.

Voluntarily waiving her legal right to lifelong anonymity, Miss Herron told how she was groomed by a gang and raped over a four month period in 2006.

Urging others to tell their stories, she said: “All I want from telling my story is that if there are other children out there who this is happening to, that they would be encouraged to speak out and get justice.

“I know I probably won’t get justice for my story but hopefully if other people come forward they can get the justice they deserve.”

Miss Herron also thanked everyone who had shown their support to her, saying: “It is amazing. Since the story went up I have had loads of people contact me and ask how I got the courage to tell my story.

“Getting my story out there has taken so much weight off my shoulders. I have had loads of times where I felt like giving up but this has really helped me.

“I just hope that any other people out there who this has happened to now feel encouraged to get out there and tell someone.

“Hopefully they can get some justice for what has happened.”