THE mother of a 13-year-old girl showing ‘the first stages of grooming’ has claimed that older pupils at her school have been targeting her daughter.

The teenager, from Blacburn, has just started speaking with specialist Engage officers who deal with child sexual exploitation, after being reported missing from home twice in the last two weeks.

According to her mum, the girl had contacted her friends on both occasions saying she was locked in two separate houses.

The concerned mother said her daughter had first been approached by 16-year-old boys at her school, who then introduced her to their older friends and relatives in their late teens.

She said: “We are a strong family unit, but this is scaring me.

"It can happen to any family. She is our youngest child and, at the moment, she is in denial and doesn’t understand that they are not her friends.

“She was told by an Engage officer last week that she was in the first stages of being groomed.

"They asked her if she was being bought things like phone credit, drink, and drugs, and if they were threatening her.

“On Sunday night she went missing again and rang a friend to say she was locked up in a house.

“The week before she was locked inside another house until the early hours of the morning.

"I’m scared about getting that knock on the door from the police.

She is the victim, but her behaviour has changed from a bubbly girl who played out in her estate and caused no trouble, to someone struggling at school.”

The Lancashire Telegraph is not to name the Blackburn school to protect the victim’s identity.

Police have launched an investigation, but have not yet made any arrests.

Nick McPartlan, Engage manager, said: “We urge parents, or carers, to look out for early warning signs in their children.”