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Child sexual exploitation and abuse in the north west has doubled since the offence was introduced in 2017/18, according to figures released by the NSPCC.

Data from Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside Police forces show 1,127 sexual communication with a child offences were recorded last year.

This compares to 565 for the same region in 2017/18.

In Greater Manchester alone the figures rose from 295 in 2017/18 to 511 for 2024/25. They hit a high of 593 in 2021/22.

Last month seven men were jailed for a combined 174 years after being found guilty of a series of historic sexual offences committed against two girls in Rochdale.

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The girls, who were teenagers at the time in the mid 2000s, were

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