Up to 1,000 children could have been abused in Britain's biggest ever child abuse scandal, an investigation has revealed.

Hundreds of children, some as young as 11, are estimated to have been drugged, beaten and raped over a 40-year period in the town of Telford.

Lucy Allan, the Conservative MP for Telford, has called for an inquiry into child sexual exploitation, saying the latest reports were "extremely serious and shocking". She has previously called for a "Rotherham-style inquiry" into the allegations.

"There must now be an independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Telford so that our community can have absolute confidence in the authorities," she told the Sunday Mirror.

The investigation claims that allegations dating back to the 1980s were mishandled by authorities in Telford, who repeatedly failed to punish a network of abusers.

Victims claimed that similar abuse, which has been linked to three murders and two other deaths, has continued in the area.