AFTER revealing that about 60 of its youngsters are at risk of being groomed, a North-East council has pledged to make safeguarding a top priority following the child sexual exploitation scandal in Rotherham.

Vulnerable children as young as 11 in Middlesbrough are being groomed in parks, via the internet, social networking sites or their parents are being befriended first, said Barnardo's.

And an assistant headteacher at Acklam Grange secondary school described child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the town as a ‘growth industry’.

A 35-page report probing the scale of the problem has concluded with nine recommendations which will be discussed on Tuesday at a meeting of Middlesbrough Council's executive.

The report was compiled by the authority's Community Safety and Leisure Scrutiny Panel after hearing evidence from representatives including Cleveland Police, Barnardo’s and Middlesbrough Safeguarding Children Board.

It found that there between 50 and 60 children were at risk and, as a result, a Vulnerable and Exploited, Missing and Trafficked (VEMT) group had been established.

The report said: “The impact of sexual exploitation cannot be underestimated. It can have serious long-term impact on every aspect of a child’s life, their health, their education and indeed their future.

“It can devastate lives and lead to family breakdown. As the panel heard, to get this wrong is too much of a risk."

In Rotherham approximately 1,400 youngsters were sexually exploited from 1997 to 2013, and just over a third had been previously known to social services because of child protection and neglect issues.

There was evidence that they had been raped, trafficked to other towns in the North of England, abducted, beaten and intimidated.

Acklam Grange, Assistant Headteacher, Martin Burnett, told the panel that CSE in Middlesbrough was a “growth industry” and extremely prevalent. “The school highlighted that they had personal experience of working with young girls who had been victims of exploitation,” the report said.

“They had found that the multi-agency working between the police, council and social workers could not be faulted and that this exemplary model ended in a very positive development for the victims,” it added.

Every secondary school in the town has a designated member of staff trained to spot the signs of CSE and it recommended that the work by Acklam Grange should be used as a model of good practice.

The findings also gave details of a van staffed by a team including police officers, social worker, Barnardo’s and a youth worker which drives around the streets between 10pm and 4pm returning young children found roaming the streets to their homes.

A 12-year-old girl was discovered with three 18-year-old men while four Romanian children aged between six and 14 were found wandering the streets at 3.30am while their mother was out at a house party.

At present, the Operation Safe scheme is only being used 20 days per year but the report recommended that this is increased.

It is also calling on the Government to tighten up a loophole in the law regarding taxi drivers. At the moment their licence is suspended if they are caught grooming a child in their car but they are free to apply for a PSV licence and legitimately drive a minibus.

“The message the panel sends out is one of –child sexual exploitation will not be tolerated in our area. Work will carry on seeking out, investigating and stopping perpetrators of this horrible crime,” it added.