AS a mother you hope and pray that bad things never happen to your children. But sometimes it’s not enough. We spoke to one mother who discovered her daughter had become a victim of sexual exploitation, and revealed she too had been through the same ordeal herself as a child.

SHE thought she had buried the terrible memories from her younger teenage years.

As a youngster, Alison (not her real name) was used for sex by adults who pretended to be her friends.

But the 39-year-old mother of six had rebuilt her life after years of drink and drug addiction, remarried and put the past behind her.

Then she found out that history had repeated itself and her daughter had fallen victim to the same kind of abuse she had.

“My daughter was 14 when it all started” said Alison, who lives in Rossendale. “She started to skive school and ignore her curfew.

"Then she would disappear 'til late at night and two or three times a week I ended up reporting her to the police as missing.

“She didn’t have many friends her age but she used to spend a lot of time on her mobile and on MSN (chat website).

“Then I found out she was being picked up in vehicles and given alcohol and drugs in return for sexual favours.”

After the authorities became involved it was discovered Alison’s daughter had become a victim of child sexual exploitation.

“At first I didn’t want to believe what was happening, but she was.

"It was harder because I knew what she was going through,” she said.

“The problem is you don’t know it’s wrong. She genuinely thought these men cared for her and when I tried to help her I was just ruining her fun.”

Alison said her daughter’s self esteem was at rock bottom during the height of the abuse.

“She wouldn’t bathe for weeks or change her clothes and she used to sleep in the day,” she said.

“She looked like nobody’s child, isolated in her own little world.

"I really honestly couldn’t see a future for her at one stage.”

Alison spoke out as part of a conference held at Burnley Town Hall this week to promote the work being done in the area to prevent child exploitation and raise awareness of the support available to victims.

Operation Freedom, a multi-agency team, was set up in 2007 in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale to protect young people from child abuse.

A similar operation, Operation Engage was launched in Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley.

The Lancashire Telegraph has been at the forefront of highlighting the problem of sexual grooming in East Lancashire with its Keep Them Safe Campaign.

Det Insp Jim Elston, from the Public Protection Unit for Burnley police said: “We realised there was a problem and set up a team to raise awareness and offer support to lower the number of families affected by child sexual exploitation.

“The Freedom team has expanded to include social workers and sexual health workers as well as the police, and our aim is to teach parents and agencies how to identify victims and stop the perpetrators for good.”

These days Alison’s daughter is in a relationship with a boyfriend her own age and is returning to college to get her life back on track.

Alison said: “The Freedom team literally swooped in and rescued her.

“When it happened to me 20 odd years ago, there was no help, I just had to deal with the shame.

"I was married at 18 and divorced by 21, and I turned to drink and drugs.

"I won’t ever step foot in my home town again because the same faces are still there.

“But now it’s totally different, you can get help. My advice for mums would be to not be afraid to double check and check again if you suspect something is not right with your child.”

Now Alison says she’s proud of her daughter and, as a family, they are beginning to smile again.

“She is a beautiful girl,” Alison said.

“She joined a girls’ group for raising self-esteem and now she wears her hair and makeup lovely and does all the things girls her age should.

“My daughter is unrecognisable to how she was before. We’re all happy again after a bit of help.”