‘Local heroes’ spotted crucial evidence

AN extraordinary cast of local heroes has been helping to hunt down paedophiles across Greater Manchester, as more people are trained up in spotting the tell-tale signs of child grooming.

Ordinary members of the public – from a bus driver to a park-keeper, hotel workers to a young online gamer – have all spotted crucial evidence over the last couple of years that has put police onto the trail of abusers, according to Ann Coffey’s report.

One Oldham police officer told the MP: “One of the best referrals we have had came from a gardener in the park who had been to child sexual exploitation training. He said he would never have noticed or realised what was happening if he had not been to training.”

Elsewhere in Greater Manchester training led a bus driver to raise the alarm.

“A bus driver who received training noticed that a young girl was consistently getting off the bus one stop before her school and getting into the same car each day,” says the review. “He reported it and it transpired that she was meeting and being groomed by a teacher from her school.”