A WOMAN from Newport raped twice at gunpoint in South Africa is making a good recovery, a friend has said.

As the Argus reported, Julie Stevens, 29, survived a terrifying 14-hour ordeal after being kidnapped by an armed gang, along with her friend, Tinus Opperman, last month.

Mrs Stevens had worked for Integra Office Solutions, near the civic centre, but recently moved out to South Africa to follow a dream career as a diving instructor.

She told police her vehicle was car-jacked while she was on a sightseeing trip in the Kruger National Park, near the Opperman family home.

She and her friend were bound and gagged in the back and feared they would be murdered.

They were kept captive as the men drove to clubs and bars and got progressively more drunk.

Their attackers crashed Mrs Stevens' car, and a passing motorist who rushed to help following the accident died after being shot in the head.

A family friend in South Africa, Pete Posthumus, told the Argus: "Julie is doing very well. She's a survivor, not a victim."

But Mrs Stevens, formerly of Sidney Street, Newport, is still awaiting test results to discover whether she has contracted HIV from her attacker.

Mrs Stevens, who worked in a sales office in Newport and was once a leading light in Newport Pantomime Society, later waived her right to anonymity as a rape victim to tell her story.

Four men were subsequently charged with the abduction, robbery and rape of Mrs Stevens, and detained in custody.

The four were due to appear before a court in South Africa today for a bail hearing.

Mrs Stevens' mother and father, who live in Gloucestershire, flew out to be with her.