Police were called to reports of a rape in St John’s Gardens in Liverpool (Picture: Geograph)

A man in his 30s was raped in public gardens in Liverpool city centre in the early hours of this morning.

Police cordoned off St John’s Gardens following reports a man was attacked there by another man at 4.30am.

It’s believed the assailant took a piece of jewellery the man was wearing at the time, before running towards Lime Street Station.

Chief inspector Dave Currie said: ‘We are in the very early stages of investigating this incident and officers remain in the area to carry out initial enquiries.

‘I understand incidents of this nature will cause concern, but please be reassured that we take all reports of rape and sexual assault extremely seriously and we are determined to find the person responsible.

‘If you have any information about this incident, or you were driving past the area at the time and have dashcam footage showing anything suspicious, please get in touch as a matter of urgency.’

The scene of the crime was cordoned off (Stock picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Photos show two cordons in place around a war memorial and a tree behind St George’s hall.

CI Currie described rape as an ‘unimaginably awful crime that we hope no one has to go through’, but urged those who have experienced it or sexual assault to speak to police.

‘We will listen carefully and do everything we can to bring such offenders to justice,’ he said.

‘Our specialist Unity Team is committed to investigating any reports of a sexual offence and supporting victims through the whole investigative process so that we can prevent any further crimes of this awful nature from happening.’

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Police are hunting for a male suspect.