Lucy Lowe, 16, was killed in a house fire in Telford with her mother and 17-year-old sister Sarah (Picture: PA)

The father of a murdered teenager linked to a child grooming scandal said he was sent a threat after speaking out about his daughter’s suspected abuse.

One of the most harrowing stories connected to suspected widespread child abuse in Telford was the case of 16-year-old Lucy Lowe.

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The teenager – pregnant with her second child at the time – was killed in a house fire alongside her mother Eileen and sister, Sarah, 17, in 2000.

Azhar Ali Mehmood, a taxi driver in Telford and the father or her children, was jailed for life in 2001 for setting fire to their home.


The couple’s 15-month-old daughter was found wrapped in a blanket under a tree in the back garden after being moved to safety before the fire was lit.



Mehmood was found to have targeted Lucy in 1997 and depsite her giving birth to their daughter when she was just 14-years-old, he was never prosecuted for any child sex crimes.

Taxi driver Azhar Mehmood was jailed for life in October 2001 after he was convicted of murdering Lucy and her family – he was never charged with sex offences

Lucy’s father George Lowe has revealed he was sent threats just for speaking out about fears his daughter was groomed.

Mr Lowe said police received a call from an untraceable pay-as-you-go handset last week warning that the bereaved father needed to ‘be careful’.

The 73-year-old, who now lives in Wellington, just outside Telford, said: ‘A police officer visited me last week and said they would be implementing security measures at my home as a result of this phone call,’ he told the Daily Mail.

‘They are not discounting the possibility of another arson attack and were talking about installing a fireproof letterbox.’

Mr Lowe and his sister, Edna Jackson, also told how Lucy became ‘unruly’ after getting together with Mehmood, often bunking off school where the family were later told taxis would congregate to pick up pupils.

‘I don’t know if that was how she first encountered him or not,’ he said.

‘She began truanting. I tried my best to get her to school but I couldn’t forcibly drag her there.’

The home of Lucy Lowe after a house fire in 2000 that killed her and her mother and sister (Picture: Caters)

He said he ‘should have been tougher’ and put a stop to his daughter’s relationship with the older man, but said the taxi driver had claimed he was four years younger than his true age.

Mrs Jackson, 72, added: ‘Lucy would climb out of windows in order to get out if she was grounded.

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‘Back then, I just thought it was her being a teenager but now we all know a lot more about grooming and the effects such abuse can have on the victims.

‘Lucy’s behaviour fits that picture. I can’t bear to think she was being groomed and wasn’t able to ask for help.’

An investigation by the Sunday Mirror this week revealed Lucy was one of up to 1,000 children from as young as 11 to be drugged, beaten and raped in Telford over four decades.

It has been described as one of the ‘worst ever’ child grooming scandals in the UK.

The Home Office has since revealed Telford has the third highest number of child sexual offences recorded in the UK, just behind Blackpool and Rotherham.



Clive Jones, director of children and adult services at Telford and Wrekin Council, said he was not aware of any murders associated with child abuse in Telford and said he did not recognise the figure of 1,000 potential victims.

He rejected calls for an independent inquiry, telling the Mail: ‘I do not know why it would be necessary.’

He said the council had worked hard to tackle child sexual exploitation and victims now had greater confidence to report abuse.

In 2016-17 the local authority received 337 contacts raising concerns about child sexual exploitation relating to 224 young people, more than half of whom were referred to child protection teams.

‘All (reports) have been investigated with rigour. Because of all the work that we have done I would expect those figures to be high because young people and parents are prepared to disclose,’ Mr Jones said.

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