A 14-YEAR-OLD Blackburn girl who was groomed for sex by gangs of men today spoke of how her life spiralled horrifically out of control.

The girl, from the Higher Croft area of Blackburn, revealed she would be expected to have sex with up to 15 men a night and had been raped when she refused to co-operate.

She told her story the day after an Evening Telegraph investigation revealed that up to 100 underage girls in East Lancashire have been lured into providing sex for men, predominantly Asian, who prey on their low self-esteem.

Today police confirmed two Blackburn men in their 40s are currently on bail pending further inquiries for alleged rape, abduction and supplying drugs to the girl, who is now rebuilding her life after being moved out of the area.

Police have stressed that grooming is not a racist problem and white men are also heavily involved in grooming children for sex, particularly on the internet.

But Muslim leaders have pledged to try and deal with the small minority of Asian men who are behind the practice and Home Secretary Dr John Reid has been urged to help tackle the problem.

Marie (not her real name) said she first began to be groomed last August when she was just 13 and that the Asian men who lured her into having sex with them, gave her cannabis, cocaine, crack, ecstasy and amphetamines.

Up until that point she was considered to be a bright child and was doing well at school.

She had never been missing from the four-bedroomed family home, which she shared with her mum, brother and sister.

Marie said once involved, she was also forced to shoplift and steal by men who would give her money and drugs in exchange for the stolen goods.

She said: "A normal day for me would start when I woke up after sleeping on some grass or something in Whalley Range.

"I would have no money so I would go and rob some clothes from Asda.

"Often the men would put you up to it as they didn't care if you got caught.

"Then we would go in town and arrange to meet some of them at somewhere like the park or at the back of the Vue cinema.

"They would bring drink and drugs and get you drunk and then they would make you carry out a sex act.

"They'd say that they would drop you off somewhere at the time you had to be in but they wouldn't end up taking you home.

"On a normal night you would probably hook up with about five cars full of men and have sex with them all.

"It was normal to have sex with up to 15 men in one night and they could be aged from 17 to 40."

Marie's mum Jayne (not her real name) said she never thought it could happen to her family.

She said: "I search myself every day to try and think why this has happened to my beautiful and clever little girl.

"These men have taken away her innocence and even though she is now free of their clutches she will never be the same girl.

"My heart has been broken and I still cannot take in the things that have happened to her."

Explaining how she became embroiled in the sexual exploitation, the girl said: "One of my friends was already hanging out with these Asian lads and men and had been asked whether she had any friends who wanted to come out with her.

"I went and at first they were really really nice to me.

"You see I am ugly and it doesn't matter if you are ugly.

"They tell you that you are beautiful and make you feel really special but now they are bastards to me.

"Once they have given you drink and drugs and presents, it is then that they turn round and say right now are you going to sort me out?' "Some of them actually make you do it.

"They give you drink and drugs and once you get into that circle you can't get out."

Marie said as she became more dependant on drugs and the attention she ended up staying away from home for days and her attendance at school dropped. She said sometimes she would stay at men's houses which the gang call their pads' or sleep rough and often woke up in parks, public toilets or in fields, not knowing where she was.

She said: "I know now my parents were totally worried about me but when you are in this cycle of getting drugs and going missing from home you don't realise that or think about it.

"You don't want to do it with these men and you don't fancy them but when you are on a comedown you know that if you go and see them they will give you more drugs.

"Sometimes it gets really bad and you get raped."

After a Police Protection Order was taken out on Marie she was put in foster care in Blackburn but her behaviour continued.

It was at this point that the decision was made that she should be placed in foster care outside the county to give her a chance to break free.

She is now allowed back to Blackburn on home visits to her family and is making good progress.

Now Marie is getting back on track she tried to explain why girls are continually being groomed into exploiting themselves in this way.

Marie added: "At the time, these men make you look up to them they make you think that they are gods or something and you end up wanting to do stuff for them.

"You don't think it at the time or can't see it but these men are taking advantage of you."