A CHARITY working with victims of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Oxfordshire has said people who work at night need to look out for signs of grooming.

Barnardos, a national charity working alongside police, NHS and council staff in Oxfordshire’s Kingfisher Team, said night workers need to be more active in preventing CSE.

The Kingfisher unit was set up in the wake of Operation Bullfinch, which in 2013 led to seven men being convicted of raping and trafficking six girls, aged between 11 and 15.

Barnardo’s chief executive Javed Khan said: “We know the perpetrators of this crime seek out victims under cover of darkness.

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“Night time affords them the opportunity to target vulnerable young people with less scrutiny from the authorities and suspicion from the public.

“Perpetrators rely on no one picking up on the signs or, if they do, failing to act on them.

“All communities have a responsibility to open their eyes, to see children at risk and act to keep them safe.”

He said: “People who work at night – whether they run off-licences or serve in fast-food shops – have an important role to play in keeping our young people safe. Those workers must understand how to spot a vulnerable child, know the risks to their wellbeing and what action to take.”

It comes as the charity was given more than £700,000 from the Department for Education to set up a 12-month pilot scheme, called Plain Sight, to make night workers the “nocturnal ‘eyes and ears’ in the fight against CSE”.

Despite more than 370 children being identified as being at risk of CSE in Oxfordshire, the Plain Sight scheme will not operate in the county.It will instead focus on Plymouth, Rotherham, Buckinghamshire, Manchester, Sheffield, Yorkshire, Bristol, Sussex, London, Birmingham, Leeds and Middlesborough.