'WORSE THAN ROCHDALE' Telford child abuse ring: Horrors of Britain’s ‘worst ever’ grooming scandal revealed with up to 1,000 kids drugged and abusedOne of the victims, Lucy Lowe, 16, died alongside her mum and sister after her abuser Azhar Ali Mehmood, 26, set fire to their house
A GIRL who died in a house fire along with her mum and sister was one of several killed by their abusers to cover up their offending, it is claimed.
As many as 1,000 children are feared to have been drugged and abused by perverts in Telford, Shrops, since the 1980s — but their hell went on for decades as authorities repeatedly failed to stamp out a network of paedophiles in the town.
Lucy Lowe, 16, was killed in 2000 along with her mum and sister 'after her abuser set fire to their house'
The number of victims estimated by child abuse experts means there could have been more per head of population than in the scandals that rocked Rochdale and Rotherham in recent years. Social workers were said to have known about the offending as far back as the 1990s, but it took cops a decade to launch a probe.
And it is claimed files show council staff regarded children who were abused and trafficked as prostitutes rather than victims.
Vulnerable Lucy Lowe was 16 when abuser Azhar Ali Mehmood, 26, set fire to her house, killing her, her mum Eileen and sister Sarah, 17, in 2000.
The taxi driver first targeted her in 1997. She was 14 when she gave birth to his daughter.
Mubarek Ali, 34, was one of seven men jailed after a 2013 police operation
He was jailed for killing the teen, along with her mum Eileen and her sister Sarah, 17 – but was never arrested or charged over sex abuse.
Another victim, who was drugged and gang-raped, said Lucy's killing was a warning to others who might speak out.
The schoolgirl, who remains anonymous, said she was driven to attempt suicide.
She told the Mirror: “I was scared my family would die like Lucy's – I thought they'd only be safe if I killed myself.”
In 2002 another schoolgirl – Becky Watson, 13 – was killed in an unexplained car accident in the Shropshire town.
Despite the smash being recorded at the time as a “prank” gone wrong, it later emerged she had reportedly been abused by an Asian grooming gang since she was 11.
Becky Watson, 13, died in a car accident that was recorded as a 'prank' that went wrong before it was revealed she was a victim of the gang as well
Ahdel Ali, 27, was jailed for abusing and trafficking kids in Telford
In tragic diary entries she is said to have told of how she was forced to “sleep around”.
Her mum said she went to cops but claimed her daughter was treated “like a criminal”.
Becky’s friend Vicky Round was abused by the same gang, who got her hooked on crack cocaine at 12 and heroin by 14.
Her death aged 20 was drugs-related. Her sister Emma said: “Vicky would still be here if she hadn’t been so badly abused — yet the people who made her life hell still walk the streets.”
Vicky Round died at 20 after getting hooked on crack at 12 and heroin at 14 by the grooming gang
Some of those who were finally brought to justice include seven men jailed in 2013 following Operation Chalice, a police probe into child prostitution in the Telford area.
Mubarek Ali, 34, and his brother Ahdel Ali, 27, were both jailed for sexually abusing, trafficking, and prostituting teens.
The paper alleges that some young girls were "lured for their families to be drugged, beaten and raped" in an epidemic that victims have said is ongoing.
It is also claimed that social workers knew of the abuse in the 1990s but the police took a decade to launch an investigation, council staff viewed victims as "prostitutes", and authorities failed to keep details of abusers from Asian communities for fear of "racism".
It's alleged that three people were murdered and two others died in tragedies linked to the scandal, while two whistleblowers were silenced.
Tory MP for Telford Lucy Allan demanded a public inquiry and said the findings were “extremely serious and shocking".
Tory MP for Telford Lucy Allan demanded a public inquiry into the scandal
One girl, who was groomed and abused after her phone number was sold to paedophiles, told the paper: “I hated what was happening and my abusers made my skin crawl but I was told that if I said a word to anyone they’d come for my little sisters and tell my mum I was a prostitute.
“Night after night, I was forced to have sex with multiple men in disgusting takeaways and filthy houses.
"I must have been getting the morning after pill from a local clinic at least twice a week but no one asked any questions."
The teen also said the "worst moment" came after her 16th birthday when she was "drugged and gang raped" by five men, and days later the ringleader came to her house and said he'd burn it down if she told anyone.
A police investigation called Operation Chalice identified more than 100 potential victims abused between 2007 and 2009.
An investigation by the Sunday Mirror found evidence of paedophiles targeting children’s homes in Telford as far back as 1981 and spoke to victims who say rapes have happened in recent months.
One report commissioned by local Telford and Wrekin Council in 2013 admitted that from the late 1990s professionals "had concerns about the nature of some of the child sexual abuse cases presented to them".
But it blamed the failure to act on "understanding and learning at that time and existing procedures".
A spokesperson for Telford and Wrekin Council told the paper that their approach to child sexual exploitation is now "very different from 10-20 years ago".
They said they have "learned lessons" and are constantly on the lookout for indicators of child sex abuse so they can pass information to police.
Martin Evans, Assistant Chief Constable for West Mercia Police, told the Sunday Mirror that they're boosting police numbers to tackle the "horrific offences is their number one priority... whether that offending took place today, yesterday or decades ago".
