The grooming was typical. Many of the girls had unsettled home lives, had suffered previous ill treatment or abuse, and some were in local authority care. All were vulnerable to predatory behaviour.

They were offered “sweets and pop”, mobile phones, perfume, and, later, hard drugs. Many of the girls thought the abuse was normal behaviour and that their abusers loved them. “I was in a car on my own. I was a 12-year-old girl. I just thought it is what I had to do,” said one of the girls picked up by Basharat Hussain from a children’s home at 12 and forced to perform oral sex on three men after he treated her to a meal. Another thought it was happy ever after with Arshid Hussain, she didn’t know he was married, or that he was abusing a string of other girls. Some continued to see their abusers when in prison. Others were lured into their criminal activities handling guns and drugs.

Some of the girls suffered horrific violence, one had cigarettes stubbed out on her body, another was blindfolded and had petrol poured on her feet. When one of the victims tried to find a safe house to escape, her abuser threatened to kill her brother. He also told her he had a policeman on the inside so he would always know how to find her. Another girl, who had been abused since she was seven by various step-fathers was preyed on by Arshid and Basharat Hussain who would visit her at home and force her into sexual acts.