London, Mar 12 (IANS): Up to 1,000 children could have suffered in Britains worst known abuse scandal, where sex gangs targeted girls as young as 11, since the 1980s, a report revealed.

The rape hell of vulnerable young girls in one town, Telford, went on for a shocking 40 years, the Sunday Mirror report revealed on Sunday.

The children have lured from their families to be drugged, beaten and raped in an epidemic that was still ongoing, according to the reported.

At least three people were murdered and two others died in tragedies linked to the scandal.

The Mirror's 18-month investigation found that social workers knew of abuse in the 1990s but police took a decade to launch a probe; council staff viewed abused and trafficked children as "prostitutes" instead of victims; authorities failed to keep details of abusers from Asian communities for fear of "racism"; and the police have failed to investigate one recent case five times until an MP intervened.

Telford's Conservative MP Lucy Allan has demanded a public inquiry and said the findings were "extremely serious and shocking", the Mirror reported.

She said: "There must now be an independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Telford so that our community can have absolute ­confidence in the authorities."

Besides Telford, similar high-profile cases were also reported in Rochdale and Rotherham.