At least 100 more officers are needed to investigate the Rotherham child abuse scandal, the head of the operation has said, as he revealed that only around 17 percent of victims have been interviewed so far.

Paul Williamson, the senior investigating officer on Operation Stovewood, said the scale of the task meant his team was struggling to cope up with demand and vulnerable victims were being let down.

The National Crime Agency, which has been investigating historic abuse in the South Yorkshire town for the last three years, has now applied for another 100 specially trained detectives to continue the investigation.

More than 1,500 potential victims and 110 suspects, have so far been identified but those figures are expected to rise.

Mr Williamson, told The Guardian that only around 17 per cent of the victims had been interviewed by his team.