Merton Police are appealing to a number of taxi drivers who may have seen a young woman who was subjected to a sexual assault whilst under the influence of what is believed to have been a 'date rape' drug.

On Friday 21st May 2004 between 9 pm and 11 pm the victim, a 20 year-old woman, was drinking in the Slug and Lettuce pub on Fulham Broadway. Towards the end of this time, after a few drinks, the victim began to feel queasy, dizzy and unwell - her memory from this point onwards is very vague. Police believe that some form of drug was slipped in to her drink to cause this acute memory loss.

The victim woke up in the back of a black (hackney carriage) cab with a white male whom she vaguely remembered from the pub. She does not remember getting out of the cab.

Her next recollection is of waking up in a bed where she was subjected to a serious sexual assault. The suspect - a white male around 26 years old with short, dark spiky hair, 5'10" with a French accent then took her outside of the house and hailed a black (hackney carriage) cab to take her home to Wimbledon - he offered the cab driver a fee of £20. This cab driver declined - as did a further cab driver; this could have been because the female appeared drunk, or that the fare was insufficient.

The suspect successfully hailed a third black cab to whom he gave £20 for the fare to Wimbledon. The suspect then put the victim into the cab, where she remembers dozing in and out of consciousness. At one point she woke up and was sick. Because of this, the cab driver pulled over and left her at a bus stop.

The victim was disorientated, did not know where she was, or how to get home. A man and woman came over to offer assistance and helped her get on the 156 bus to Wimbledon. The victim arrived home at 1.45 am and still has very few recollections of the night or where she was between leaving the pub and getting home.

The victim is a 20 year old blonde woman, 5' 7" with a South African accent. The suspect is described as a white male, aged approx 26 years, a dark complexion, 5'10", with short dark spiky gelled hair and a French accent.

Police would like to speak to:

· the cab driver who picked up the victim and the suspect in the Fulham area
· the cab drivers who declined the £20 fare
· the cab driver who accepted the fare and dropped the female at a bus stop after she was sick
· the young couple who assisted the victim, this female was also south African

Police would also like to hear from anyone who was in the Slug and Lettuce the night of Friday 21st May, and who saw or heard anything suspicious.

Anyone with any information should contact Wimbledon CID on 020 8649 3137. Alternatively if you wish to remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 08000 555 111.