Children as young as ten are being trafficked to the UK for sex after being groomed by criminals in Romania, a disturbing BBC investigation has found.

Sold: Sex Slaves Next Door, a new documentary, uncovers a vile sex trade operating between the two countries and profiles the traumatised victims.

It reveals children being manipulated into thinking they are in loving relationships before being transported to the UK and subjected to abuse.

Hundreds of girls have reportedly fallen victim to a loophole in Romanian law which prevents police from pursuing human traffickers if a child leaves by choice.

In 2021, a European Commission report warned that ten times more children are being smuggled out of Romania than five years previously.

Police raids in England have shown more than 8 in 10 women working in British brothels are from Romania, with many being victims of trafficking.

CARE's Lauren Agnew responds

Lauren Agnew, Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation Policy Officer at CARE, stressed that UK laws on prostitution are creating a market for trafficking and exploitation:

"Human trafficking is a highly lucrative business with trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation being the most profitable form of trafficking. Unlike drugs, women can be bought and sold again and again.

"Traffickers readily ensure an endless supply of women and young girls into the sex industry in order to meet the demand for paid sexual services which drives and proliferates trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

"Human traffickers are also opportunistic. Failure to follow in Northern Ireland’s footsteps to adopt the Nordic Model, which criminalises the purchase of sex, lays out a welcome mat to traffickers who see an opportunity to operate with impunity.

"If the Government does not act to interrupt the business of sex trafficking by targeting the demand, these criminals will continue to be allowed to profit from women’s bodies."

The BBC documentary airs at 11.15pm on Monday night.