British backpacker recovering in Australia after two-month 'kidnap ordeal'
The 22-year-old tourist faces a wait to return to the UK, after her passport was damaged by the suspect
A British backpacker is recovering from an alleged two-month kidnap ordeal, which saw her repeatedly raped and beaten by an ex-lover.
The 22-year-old tourist - who was taken to hospital - will have to wait to return to the UK though, after her passport was damaged by the suspect.
She caused alarm when she stumbled, badly bruised and "almost zombie-like" into a remote petrol station in the Australian outback.
According to reports, she tearfully nodded when asked if it was her ex-partner who abused her, and then left the petrol station without paying.
Police were flagged down during the chase and officers pulled her over near Mitchell, Queensland - finding her with facial fractures and marks on her neck.
Stowed in the boot beneath a pile of clothing was her alleged tormentor.
She told police she had been held captive by a man she had met at a party in Cairns and had been travelling around the state in the car since January 2.
Shop owner Beverley Page said "I made the decision to follow her because I thought that if I could get the registration number I'd be able to file a report to the police,''
It is thought the sabotage to her passport was a means of invalidating it and possibly preventing an escape.
Detective Inspector Paul Hart told a press conference on Tuesday: "It was established they had previously had a relationship but at some point it had soured and he basically deprived her of her liberty and committed a number of offences against her as they travelled around the state.
"What she has experienced is no doubt horrific and terrifying and we commend her for taking the opportunity to speak to our police.
The victim is believed to have been in the country since 2015 and has spoken to her family since being recovered.
"We have potentially saved this young girl's life. Given what's happened to her, the extent of what's happened over the period of time, anything might have transpired.''
"She was in a state of shock when she came in, almost zombie-like,'' Ms Page told the Daily Mail.
"Then she walked in, wearing a black summer dress and said she couldn't pay for the fuel. Tears were running down her face.
"But what struck me were her black eyes. She looked bad.''
She disappeared in her Mitsubishi Pajero with 60 dollars' worth of petrol up the Warrego Highway, around 300 miles from the east coast city of Brisbane, Ms Page told the paper.
The suspect, from the Manunda suburb of Cairns, appeared in court on Monday charged with a string of offences, including four counts of rape, eight counts of assault and four counts of strangulation.