MIDDLESBROUGH is not another Rotherham, mayor Ray Mallon insisted today (Tuesday, October 7) - but admitted there was a "significant problem" with child sexual exploitation in the town.

Children as young as primary school age are being groomed in parks, hotels, takeaways, and on the internet, and sexual exploitation in Middlesbrough is a "growth industry", a report to the council said.

After children are groomed they are given drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, gifts and money in exchange for sex or posting sexual images online.

Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald said the problem was a "dreadful stain on our communities" and called for constant vigilance and more resources to tackle it.

The report said exploitation was an emerging issue in Middlesbrough - and significantly higher than the rest of the Tees Valley. However, the full scale of the problem was unclear and more research was needed to find out how wide ranging it was, the report concluded.

But councillors stressed the problem was a national one and not unique to towns like Middlesbrough.

About 50 to 60 children were at risk in the town, including 11 at "significant risk", and a Vulnerable and Exploited, Missing and Trafficked (VEMT) group has been established to tackle the issue.

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.

Mr Mallon told The Northern Echo: "Middlesbrough is not another Rotherham. Rotherham was a unique case.

"The whole of the country has a problem with child exploitation and Middlesbrough is no different. We have no idea of the extent of this particular problem but we haven't got 300 people doing this, we know that. There are not hundreds of offenders involved in this."

He told the meeting: "I don't believe that we have an epidemic in Middlesbrough or across the country but there will be pockets of problems within significant areas. We haven't got an epidemic in the town and my information will be accurate where that is concerned."

Mr McDonald said: "I congratulate the council in highlighting these appalling activities and setting out in such detail how the abuse is being countered. This is everyone's problem and the scale and nature of the problem simply cannot be underestimated. As the issue is sadly a permanent feature of our society, constant vigilance and the constant improvement in prevention and intervention, detection and protection, is key."

He raised concerns about enough resources being channelled into prevention and said: "It is absolutely essential that all of the key players who are so focussed on this issue are provided with the relevant resources to combat these evil and ruinous behaviours."

Councillor Frances McIntyre, chair of the Community Safety and Leisure Scrutiny panel, said: "Somewhere out there a child is being exploited and we want, if we can, prevent that from happening. It must continue to be one of the council's top priorities.

"Children, no matter what their background, can be exploited and groomed for exploitation."

Coun Peter Purvis added: "We bear no relation whatsoever to Rotherham. We are getting everyone together on this. This is a heinous crime and we all would like to see the back of it."

Acklam Grange School were featured in the report for their work in helping young girls who had been victims of exploitation.

“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.

The report also called 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.