Barnado's receives £3 million to tackle Rotherham child sex abuse

Barnado's has received £3 million to tackle child sex abuse in Rotherham.

The charity said it would use the funds - provided by the Government, Rotherham Council and the KPMG Foundation - to hire 15 specialists to help victims and those at risk of child sex exploitation.

Last year, the Jay Report estimated that 1,400 children had been sexually exploited in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

The report also found that children as young as 11 were raped by large groups of men.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is currently investigating how South Yorkshire Police officers dealt with cases in Rotherham.

The National Crime Agency has also begun a major investigation into allegations of child sexual exploitation in the town.

Javed Khan, chief executive of Barnardo's, said the project signalled a "new era" in confronting the crime in Rotherham.