A specialist unit set up to tackle child sex exploitation in the city has been pledged further funding.

Oxfordshire County Council leader Ian Hudspeth yesterday said funding for the £1.1m Kingfisher unit would remain in place for as long as needed.

The team, made up of specially trained police and social workers, was set up at Cowley police station in 2012 to help potential victims and stop potential abusers.

The council put £620,000 towards the launch and Thames Valley Police put in £500,000.

Mr Hudspeth was reported yesterday to have said a key lesson of the Oxford grooming gang case was that agencies needed to work together to stop abuse.

He said: “At the Kingfisher unit in the Cowley Road police station, social workers are sitting next to police officers. They can build up a picture and take appropriate action.”

DCI Joe Kidman, said on Monday that the Bullfinch investigation was far from over.

He said the force now had more resources and training to help victims and encouraged them to come forward.