A teenage protestor said she was “treated like a criminal” when she reported a sexual assault to police during student demonstrations.

The 17-year-old, from Brighton, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has made a formal complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) over her alleged treatment.

The student, who took part in the London protests that descended into violence in December, said she collapsed to the ground as hundreds of protestors pushed towards a police line.

Whilst on the ground, she said she was “repeatedly groped” for up to ten minutes by a fellow protestor.

However, she claims the Metropolitan Police failed to contact her after she reported the assault and showed no “empathy” when she was giving a statement.

The IPCC and Metropolitan Police Professional Standards Department (MPS) are now reviewing the complaint.

A spokesman for Metropolitan Police said paramedics reported an allegation of sexual assault to police but the victim had left the ambulance by the time they arrived.

He added: “It was investigated by police at Westminster who, following the initial complaint, repeatedly tried to contact the victim using the details she had provided, however she never responded.”

He added the complaint will be “thoroughly” investigated.

An IPCC spokeswoman confirmed it had received a complaint which had been passed onto the police standards department for consideration.