POLICE and crime commissioner Anthony Stansfeld yesterday backed his Chief Constable, claiming other forces across the country had also failed victims of child sex gangs.

Mr Stansfeld said he would not call on Sara Thornton to resign as child sex exploitation was a problem across the country.

Gangs have been convicted in Rochdale, Rotherham, Shropshire, and Derby.

Mr Stansfeld said: “We would have no Chief Constables left in the country. I believe this is not an isolated case. It is happening elsewhere.”

He said the force should have done more when girls came to them alleging rape and sex abuse by men.

He said: “I don’t think they realised the significance of the situation.

“It was very difficult to realise it was an organised gang doing this. It is very well concealed by both the perpetrators and the victims.”

But he said: “It is very difficult to know in some cases why more was not done. Very often the police did do something about it. There was not enough evidence without the girls’ support.

“I don’t think it was taken seriously enough in the early stages.

“We should have looked into it far more deeply despite the difficulty of getting evidence.”

Following the verdicts on Tuesday Mr Stansfeld called for a public inquiry into how children in care are safeguarded nationally.