A woman who says she was raped in 2017 has described the criminal justice system as “absolutely broken” after a series of problems and errors allowed the accused man to allegedly start stalking her.

Despite reporting the rape allegation to police the day after it happened, the case is not due to be tried in court until next May - eight years after the alleged assault.

In that time, delays and errors by police, mistakes by prosecutors and court backlogs have contributed to the woman having a mental breakdown.

“It’s shambolic, embarrassing, disgraceful and debilitating,” says the woman, who is legally entitled to anonymity. “I shouldn’t have felt abandoned and hopeless.”