Traffickers are often able to lure the children away from their impoverished parents whom they convince to pay money to help find them better lives overseas and put them in position to send money home, The Sunday Telegraph said.

The victims, who are smuggled into Britain or brought in on false passports by adults posing as relatives, are put to work immediately, live in appalling conditions and are subjected to physical and sexual abuse, it said.

Its report is based on a consultation paper presented to the Home Office by a coalition of nine charities including Unicef, Save the Children and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.