A group of schoolchildren have been accused of gang-raping a 12-year-old girl during a birthday party. The victim was allegedly attacked by five or six of her classmates at a public venue in Burgos, a historic city in northern Spain.

The children were expelled from school following the incident, before reportedly being allowed to return just a week later. All parties involved have returned to normal lessons, although the alleged perpetrators are being kept separate from other pupils to "avoid stigmatisation", The Sun reports. Police said the boys are all aged 11 or 12, meaning they are below the age of criminal responsibility and cannot be prosecuted. Local authorities have instead handed a report on the alleged attack to the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office.

A police investigation was launched after the victim's family filed a report last month, according to Diario de Burgos.

The regional news outlet also reported that the 12-year-old was left emotionally and physically traumatised by the incident.

It comes after Spanish police began investigating a number of alleged sexual assaults on teenage girls on a cruise liner earlier this month.

The eight girls, who are as young as 15, all attend the same school in Basque Country and were on a privately-organised trip to Barcelona when the alleged incidents took place.

No arrests have yet been made, but sources close to the investigation said suspects have been identified, describing them as adults who were not part of the girls' group.

The Basque Government's Security Minister Bingen Zupira also confirmed that police had received two complaints.

A spokesperson for the Guardia Civil in Barcelona said: "We were made aware of alleged incidents involving minors when the cruise liner docked here on May 1.

"Officers received several complaints and have taken a number of statements and an investigation is ongoing. A local court has been informed and it will be up to the court to determine what happens next."