More than 150 Vietnamese children have disappeared from care since 2015, but the true figure is likely to be higher

Scores of Vietnamese children rescued from traffickers and placed in council care have gone missing and are feared to have fallen back into the hands of slave masters, The Times can reveal.

Crime gangs are re-trafficking victims and local authorities are failing in their duty to safeguard children, figures obtained through freedom of information requests suggest.

More than 150 Vietnamese minors have disappeared from care and foster homes since 2015, with almost 90 others going missing temporarily. Most go missing within two days of entering care. At least 21 have vanished this summer, including 12 from Rochdale. That council’s child protection record is already under scrutiny after the child grooming scandal and the public inquiry into the Cyril Smith case.

Young trafficking victims of other