A series of trials that were almost derailed by the English Defence League founder, Tommy Robinson, have ended with 20 members of an Asian grooming gang being convicted of a catalogue of rape and abuse against girls as young as 11.

The gang members, who were mainly of Pakistani heritage and came from the Huddersfield area, were convicted after a court heard how they passed victims around like "commodities" and used them for their own "sexual gratification".

Ringleader Amere Singh Dhaliwal, 35, was jailed for life earlier this year and told he must serve a minimum of 18 years in prison by a judge who described his treatment of the girls as "inhuman".

The abuse took place between 2004 and 2011 and involved victims aged between 11 and 17.

Details of the case and the three trials can only now be disclosed after a judge agreed to lift reporting restrictions following a challenge from the media.

But the second trial almost collapsed in May when far right campaigner, Robinson, was arrested for allegedly breaching reporting restrictions by filming outside the court.