Eight questioned over child sex abuse allegations

Eight people are being questioned over child sex abuse allegations as part of a major police inquiry initiated after a teenage girl confided in a teacher. Police said five men and a woman were detained when detectives and social workers raided homes on the north Cornwall coast yesterday after search warrants were issued under the Protection of Children Act.

The men, aged between 35 and 53, were arrested on suspicion of raping girls aged between 13 and 15 years. A sixth man was later arrested in north Cornwall on suspicion of similar offences and officers from Devon and Cornwall police travelled to Telford last night to interview a seventh man who was arrested by Shropshire police.