Eastern European sex slaves in the shires

Hundreds of Eastern European women are being smuggled into Britain every month to work in prostitution rackets run by criminal gangs, it was reported today.

Hundreds of Eastern European women are being smuggled into Britain every month to work in prostitution rackets run by criminal gangs, it was reported today.

The BBC Radio 4 Today programme said Home Office research showed that the gangs were spreading from London into small towns in the countryside.

The criminals often used extreme violence and intimidation to keep the women living in fear, the programme said.

The research was carried out by a women and child abuse unit at the University of North London.

It showed that the women were often promised a life of riches in the West, but when they arrived in Britain they were kept virtual prisoners as prostitutes and paid a pittance.

They were forced to work long shifts and told to put up with violence from customers.

Yet, the BBC reported, it appeared that no police outside London had a strategy to deal with the growing menace.