A WOMAN raped by two footballers hit out at the criminal justice system yesterday after a judge ordered them to pay her £100,000 in damages in a landmark ruling.

Denise Clair took ex-Scotland player David Goodwillie and his then-Dundee United teammate David Robertson to court after prosecutors refused to act.

Yesterday she was awarded a six-figure payout in the country’s first civil rape case of its kind.

The men denied assaulting the 30-year-old at a property in Armadale, West Lothian, following a night out in Bathgate in January, 2011.

But judge Lord Armstrong said their evidence on the issue of consent was not credible and, in his written judgement, called the victim’s account “cogent, persuasive and compelling”.

The judge said both men “took advantage” of Clair when she was “vulnerable through an excessive intake of alcohol” and “incapable of giving meaningful consent”.

He added: “They each raped her.”

The mother previously waived her right to anonymity as she pursued court action against the pair.

Following the Court of Session judgement yesterday, she said: “I am pleased by today’s verdict. However, I am bitterly disappointed that I was so badly let down by the criminal justice system and was forced to seek a remedy through the civil court.

“If it was not for the support of my lawyer Cameron Fyfe and the team at Rape Crisis Scotland, I do not know how I could have coped throughout this long, harrowing journey.”

Simon Di Rollo QC, senior counsel for Clair, said: “It was incredibly brave of Ms Clair to have brought the action, in which, unlike in a criminal case, she did not enjoy anonymity.

“The case illustrates the importance of the 2009 Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act which spells out that free agreement to sexual activity cannot be given while a person is incapable because of the effect of alcohol.

“The court accepted that Ms Clair was incapable and that anyone dealing with her would have known that.”

At a hearing last year, both men said they had engaged in consensual sex with the woman, but the judge said their account of the incident had been “selective”.

The players met the victim at a pub and she said that while she remembered meeting Goodwillie, she had no recollection of Robertson.

Her next recollection is waking the following day in an unknown house unable to find her clothing.

The judge said Clair struggled to understand why the Crown Office had decided against a criminal prosecution, adding: “She felt that her life had been destroyed.”

Sandy Brindley of Rape Crisis Scotland said: “This is a landmark case which broadens access to justice in Scotland. The woman should be commended for her bravery.”