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Asian men have been targeting young girls in Sheffield, says a former care home worker.

But she kept quiet because she feared she would be branded a racist if she spoke out.

Ruth, using a fake name, who worked in the city from 2002 to 2004, said: “Occasionally some of the care workers would go around in cars, which put us at great risk, but we were so desperate and frustrated with the lack of anything being done for the girls. It was endemic, totally endemic throughout.

“I wish I had said something at the time but if I had I would have probably been labelled a racist. I think the whole system completely and utterly failed the girls.”

The news follows horrific revelations from Rotherham, just five miles from Sheffield, of 1,400 children being sexually abused by groups of mainly Pakistani men.

South Yorkshire Police yesterday confirmed there were currently 173 live investigations into child exploitation in Sheffield.