MEN who attacked young girls in Pendle as part of an ‘evil’ underage sex ring are being hunted by detectives.

Nine offenders were today beginning jail sentences totalling more than 77 years after being convicted of running the ring which brought vulnerable girls as young as 13 to Nelson and Colne to be abused.

But detectives have revealed that up to a further 50 men may have been involved in the under-age sex plot — including suspects in Pendle.

Community leaders in Nelson have supported calls to bring any further abusers to justice, as investigations into the sex ring, which was based in Rochdale, continue.

However they also have insisted that the men’s criminality, rather than their Asian backgrounds, should be the key factor in any crackdown.

Of the men jailed yesterday eight were from Pakistan and one was from Afghanistan.

Girls as young as 13 were first plied with fast food, drink and drugs before they were ‘handed around’ for sex by the men.

Pendle Mayor Coun Nadeem Ahmed, a local solicitor, said he was ‘disgusted’ to hear details of the case and urged police to bring perpetrators of the Pendle offences to justice.

He said: “This case was absolutely disgusting and it is right that these men faced the full force of the law.

“It is a wider issue though and I don’t think we should be focusing on one particular section of the community, because I don’t think that helps.

“The issue needs to be tackled and dealt with by the community at large.”

Yesterday Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said that British Pakistani men were ‘over-represented’ in conviction rates for child grooming.

But Coun Mohammed Iqbal, county councillor and borough Labour group leader, said: “There is grooming going on in every town in the country and it is the duty of everyone, in the community at large, that suspects anyone of such conduct to alert the authorities.”

He told the Lancashire Telegraph that there was a ‘collective responsibility’ to address the issue, regardless of their backgrounds.

Coun Salim Mulla, vice-chairman of Lancashire Council of Mosques, said: “These are despicable and wicked acts which must not be tolerated within any society or any community.

“No abuser should feel safe to hide their actions within their community. Our hearts go out to the victims and our thanks to the police and those within the community who helped bring this case to court.”

He has called on community leaders to ‘remain on their guard’, create awareness of the issue and report any suspicious behaviour to the authorities.

Jail terms of between four and 19 years were handed out to the nine men, all from the Rochdale and Oldham areas, following convictions for under-age sex conspiracy and trafficking charges.

Five victims were ‘shared’ by Kabeer Hassan, sentenced to 9 years in prison, Abdul Aziz, was sentenced to nine years, Abdul Rauf, to six years, Mohammed Sajid, to 12 years, Adil Khan to eight years, Abdul Qayyum, to five years, Mohammed Amin, to five years, Hamid Safi, to four years, and a 59-year-old man who cannot be named for legal reasons, to 19 years.

Passing sentence at Liverpool Crown Court, Judge Gerard Clifton said the offences were motivated by ‘lust and greed’.

Speaking after the case Det Chief Supt Mary Doyle said the victims were targeted because they were vulnerable and available, not because they were white. Following the convictions detectives said they believe there could be up to 50 other men who took part in the grooming but remain at large.

She said: “These offences are the worst you can possibly imagine against vulnerable young children.

“Let’s not shy away from the fact the victims are children.

"It was an incredibly difficult and complex case to investigate not least because of the amount of support the victims understandably required throughout.

“It was pure evil. They were exploiting the vulnerable in our society for their own gratification.”