The mother of a 14-year-old schoolgirl who police believe was murdered and cut up before being served as kebab meat has claimed the investigation was sidelined because she is working class.

Charlene Downes, from Blackpool, disappeared 15 years ago but her family are no closer to finding out the truth about what happened to her.

Her mother, Karen Downes, has been highly critical of the police who initially dismissed her daughter as a runaway, and said at points she felt as if she was the only one looking for her.

Now Karen is speaking out about her ordeal for the first time in a new book so that her beloved daughter is never forgotten.

She said: 'The police came but they just dismissed Charlene as a runaway. They wouldn't put her picture in the paper or on TV.

Charlene Downes, pictured, went missing in 2003. Police believe she was groomed before being murdered, but her body has never been found

Now her mother, Karen, is speaking out for the first time so that her beloved daughter will never be forgotten. She claims the investigation was sidelined because her family are uneducated and working class

'It was six weeks later that her disappearance was made public.

'When Madeleine McCann went missing it made global headlines overnight. Of course I feel dreadfully sorry for her parents.

'But was my daughter not worth the same? I can't help feeling we were sidelined because we are uneducated and working class.

'In the end, I was so despairing of the lack of interest in Charlene that I had my own leaflets printed and I handed them out myself, on the streets of Blackpool, night after night. Sometimes it felt as though I was the only one looking for her.'

The investigation into Charlene's disappearance became the largest in Lancashire Police's history and was incredibly controversial.

Officers believed Charlene was lured into a gang and groomed for sex before being murdered, but two local takeaway workers who stood trial in 2007 were not convicted.

In the months leading up to her disappearance, Charlene changed, becoming rebellious and moody. Her mother believes she missed vital clues that she was being groomed

Karen, pictured with husband Bob, said: 'I want other mothers to be aware of the signs of grooming – to spot them and act on them – before it is too late'

The police were heavily criticised and officers were disciplined. The defendants from the original trial received staggering sums in damages.

Looking back at her daughter's behaviour in the months leading up to her disappearance, Karen believes she missed vital clues that Charlene was being groomed.

Her daughter, who was normally quiet and shy, suddenly transformed into a rebellious teenager.

She began to misbehave and started to act cheeky and moody instead of being the 'affectionate, loving little girl' Karen knew.

On several occasions, Charlene skipped school, and her parents Karen and Bob had no idea where she was. She once came home with £70 and would not say where she got it.

But Karen, who has two older girls, Emma and Rebecca, 'was sure it would pass and she'd soon be back to her normal self'.

Karen, 53, added: 'When Charlene went missing it was horrendous. I kept on thinking she would turn up, that she was just pushing the boundaries and testing my patience.

The disappearance of their 'affectionate, loving little girl' (pictured as a baby) tore the Downes family apart. Bob turned to alcohol while their son, Robert junior, would sneak out of his bedroom window in the middle of the night to search for Charlene

In 2007, two local takeaway workers were put on trial for her murder but they were not convicted. Karen said hearing that her daughter was cut up and served as kebab meat 'almost broke her'. Pictured: Charlene at age six, left, with her cousin

'I never for a moment believed I would never see her again, that she had been lured into a gang and groomed for sex.

'Looking back though, the clues were there and I just didn't see them – now I want other mothers to learn from my tragedy.'

The ongoing ordeal tore apart Karen and Bob's family - he turned to alcohol for comfort, while she cried all the time and slept in her missing daughter's bed.

Karen has written about her family's ordeal in a new book, Sold in Secret, pictured

Their son, Robert junior, would sneak out of his bedroom window in the middle of the night to search for his sister, while their other two daughters dropped out of college and work.

And to top it all off, officers searching the family home for clues inadvertently exposed Charlene's father as a cross-dresser after finding ladies' clothing and counselling material.

Karen says: 'The week she vanished, the police searched our home and I was puzzled when they asked me who "Martina" was. I thought they were suggesting that Bob was having an affair with a woman named Martina.

'But it turned out that Bob actually was Martina – she is his alter-ego. He had been dressing in ladies' clothes for two years and I'd had no idea.

'I rummaged through his drawers and I found nail polish and lacy undies. But instead of revulsion, I felt sympathy for him. He needed my support.'

The couple briefly separated but got back together - although Karen admits they will 'never get back to how we once were'.

In her new book, Sold In Secret, Karen writes about her family's torment during the police investigation.

The police investigation into Charlene Downes' murder Charlene Downes, 14, had been a victim of child sex gangs in Blackpool, many of them centred on takeaway restaurants. Police believe she was sexually abused by as many as 100 men in the run-up to her death. In 2007 two business partners were tried for murdering Charlene and disposing of her body using a mincing machine, before putting it into kebabs. However, a jury failed to reach a verdict and the case collapsed. Iyad Albattikhi and Mohammed Reveshi later received six-figure compensation sums for false imprisonment. In 2013, to mark the tenth anniversary of Charlene’s disappearance, police announced they had appointed a dedicated full-time senior investigating officer to the case. In 2016 a cold case team revisited the investigation and discovered CCTV footage of Charlene walking with her sister Rebecca on the day she vanished. It was finally released on the 13th anniversary of her disappearance in November 2016 and again for a fresh appeal on the BBC's Crimewatch Live Roadshow. Last year, a 51-year-old man was arrested after being first quizzed by police in the year she went missing. Over the years, police have made five arrests on suspicion of Charlene's murder but all have been freed without charge. Advertisement

She last saw her daughter on the last night of the 2003 Blackpool Illuminations, when she spotted her handing out leaflets for a local restaurant.

She spoke to her daughter and a school friend for a while, describing her as 'full of beans', before heading off to work.

When she came home late that evening, there was no sign of her.

Bob cycled around Blackpool but failed to find her, and police told the family to wait until morning.

At dawn, the police launched an investigation but insisted they believed Charlene was a runaway and no publicity was given to her disappearance. Bob and Karen were interviewed and their home was searched.

Karen said: 'My older daughter, Rebecca, was the last member of our family to see her alive and she was devastated.

'There were bogus sightings too – a woman knocked at my door and said she'd found her body on a railway line. I was hysterical but she was just a crank.

Police initially dismissed Charlene, pictured shortly before her disappearance, as a runaway. It took six weeks of begging for Karen to get her disappearance made public

Karen added: 'I can't help feeling we were sidelined because we are uneducated and working class. In the end, I was so despairing of the lack of interest in Charlene that I had my own leaflets printed and I handed them out myself, on the streets of Blackpool, night after night'

'We had people saying nasty things; even claiming we were involved in our own daughter's disappearance. Bob was attacked in the local pub because people thought it was him. It was unbearable.

'I was tormented with nightmares. Every time there was a body found, I was sick with fear.'

Then, during the trial, Karen was almost broken by what she heard.

She said: 'It was suggested in court too that, after she was killed, her body had been cut up and mixed into kebabs.

'It was horrific to listen to. As a mother, it almost broke me.'

In 2014, Police offered a £100,000 reward and new CCTV footage emerged, which shows Charlene shortly before she disappeared. But the investigation is still no further forward.

Unable to hold a funeral for her daughter, Karen holds memorials on each anniversary of her disappearance.

She says: 'Deep down I have to accept that my darling daughter is dead, but without a body, I will always have a glimmer of hope. I will never stop fighting for the truth.

'Over the years, I've learned to be grateful for the 14 years I had with her, and to remember the happiness and the love she brought to us.

'I've written a book because I don't want Charlene to be forgotten – ever. She lives on through my campaign, and she will always be in my heart.

'If anything positive can come from this, I would like to help other families. I want other mothers to be aware of the signs of grooming – to spot them and act on them – before it is too late.'