THE family of one of the girls raped by the Bullfinch gang have said today parents everywhere should be vigilant against the danger of grooming.

The family, who cannot be identified, praised their daughter and the other five victims for coming forward and giving the evidence that today condemned their attackers to decades in jail.

They said: "This has been a long and harrowing trial for our family to bear. We are so pleased that the brave young girls who gave evidence have seen justice and we want to thank each one of them for finding the strength to give evidence. They have all conducted themselves in a courageous and dignified manner, including our daughter, and we thank them for that.

"We were a happy family, living in a good area. We never imagined this could be possible and we want to make other parents and carers aware that this type of crime can happen anywhere. It’s not about location, it’s about the perpetrators. It isn’t about affluence or poverty - these men deliberately targeted and groomed our daughter regardless of our family background. They took her from us and we will never get those lost years back.

"It is important that every single one of us is vigilant and observant of children’s behaviour and we urge anyone with any concerns to follow their instincts and come forward. If you have any concerns at all, tell someone before it’s too late.

"We truly hope that the publicity this case has created will ensure changes are made in safeguarding and child protection laws and we are looking forward to working with the Serious Case Review.

“We also want to thank the jury for sitting through such a harrowing trial. They were called upon to do their civic duty and we truly appreciate how attentively they listened to the disturbing details every day. The 18 week trial must have completely disrupted their lives and we thank them for their patience.

"We would also like to thank the court staff and witness care teams, many of whom are voluntary, who made some very difficult days bearable.

"Judge Rook did not allow the defence barristers to over complicate the questions and we were impressed by his professionalism.

"And we would like to pay tribute to the investigation team, who carefully put the case together. It can take a long time for the police to build relationships with victims and get such a complex case to court. It takes enormous amounts of time to build the trust of young girls who have suffered awful abuse on this scale.

"We now ask that you allow us some time and privacy to get on with our lives."