We're Blackpool hotel champions and not having a license to trade is a free ticket for grooming gangs

Off the back of historic cases such as that of Charlene Downes and following the publication of a damning recent report into the horrifying scale of child sex offences in Blackpool, the director of StayBlackpool has called for action.

Coun Paul Galley, the leader of Blackpool Council’s Conservative group, recently released a 36-page report citing deeply concerning data and long-standing failures to tackle child sexual exploitation in the town, insisting that Blackpool should be included in the just-announced forthcoming national inquiry into child grooming.

With the report claiming that, between 2021 and 2024, there were 1,746 recorded sex offences against children in Blackpool as well as 1,555 registered sex offenders currently residing in the town, the Director of hoteliers’ group StayBlackpool Ian White has spoken about how current industry practices are cause for ‘massive concern’.

“The current growth in short stay accommodation with no onsite management provides a massive cause for concern,” said White. “Potentially grooming gangs, county lines gangs etc get a ‘free ticket’ for their activity to go un noticed .

“StayBlackpool's call for a license to trade is the only way to reduce the risks,” he added. “Such a license would need to be like a taxi license where the tools of the trade whether a building or a motor vehicle as well as the responsible, ‘day-to-day’ operator has be be fit for purpose.

“Sadly the reality is that it feels like it will take something really serious to happen before any clamp down occurs .”

Fractured skull, broken bones, and chest injuries

Blackpool has experienced a number of incidents at local hotels in recent decades, including a case in 2019 when an 18-month-old girl plummeted from a second-storey hotel window, suffering a fractured skull, broken bones, and chest injuries.

The girl - who fell from a second storey window to the rear of The Rooms Inn on Albert Road - was found by Kevin Twiss, the owner of The Lumada Hotel next door, who noticed the child lying face-down in an alleyway behind the property.

Emergency services were called and the girl was taken by land ambulance to a helicopter, and airlifted to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.

Mr Twiss, then 35, said: “I saw the child on the floor. I wondered if I was seeing it right. I ran outside and when the parents weren’t there I shouted up to them. From there I jumped over the wall and wasn’t sure what to do and I picked her up. It was just so quick. I picked her up and her dad was there, so I passed her straight over. It was a horrible thing.”

Years of warning signs

In his report, Coun Galley said: “Blackpool has never had a formal inquiry into child sexual exploitation, despite years of warning signs. It’s clear that Blackpool still has a terrible problem with the sexual exploitation of children.

“The scale of the issue is staggering — and unique challenges facing coastal communities like ours must not be overlooked. This isn’t a problem confined to one race, background, or religion. It cuts across all of society.

“The report outlines the specific challenges coastal towns face, including the concentration of high-risk housing, vulnerable families, high number of childrens homes and high amounts of sexual violence as well as warnings from the Police about grooming gangs operating in Blackpool.”

Time to put the victims first

Coun Azhar Ali OBE, the independent member for Nelson East and opposition leader at Lancashire County Council, has backed the announcement about the inquiry, saying: “I welcome the Government's decision to launch a full national statutory inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). It is important to act on Baroness Casey's findings.

“CSE has no race or religion and as councillors we have never shied away from these issues and in fact have confronted the issue without prejudice. We know very well that child abuse is perpetrated by people of all races and inflicted on all races and religions. We also know that some child abuse starts in the family or close family friends.

“Now is the time to put the victims first and have a Zero tolerance approach to deal with historic perpetrators through the justice system rapidly. It is also important that we ask questions on how and why this happened and what were the drivers. It is definitely not racist to ask these questions.

“The inquiry must deal with the 'institutional failings from statutory agencies including the Police and local government. The government need to fast track this inquiry by working with the existing local inquiries; also provide the National Crime Agency the resources to help keep all our girls safe and for agencies to provide a zero tolerance whilst ensuring that victims can come forward knowing they will get the support they need to give evidence against predatory men.”