Hundreds of girls rescued from traffickers in Britain are snatched back and forced into prostitution

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A United Nations survey found that out of 330 youngsters saved from criminal gangs in the UK, well over half subsequently went missing from local authority care.

The fear is they were followed and recaptured by their traffickers.

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Twisted fate: children are being rescued from people-traffickers only to be 'snatched back and forced into prostitution'

The figures were highlighted by the Conservatives yesterday as they demanded tougher Government action to deal with the horrors of people-trafficking - an industry worth an estimated £5billion a year.

In Britain up to 25,000 foreign women and girls are trapped in a modern form of slavery - smuggled into the country, threatened with violence and forced to work as prostitutes.

Most come from poor countries in search of a better life but find themselves trapped by their debts to gangs and unable to seek protection because they are illegal immigrants.

One prostitute can make more than £100,000 a year profit for her "pimp".

Tory critics said the issue was no longer confined to major cities but was being seen in towns and villages.

Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "Two hundred years after we abolished the slave trade it is a shame on our country that we are not treating this problem more seriously."

He said young teenagers were being turned away from specialist safe house projects for trafficking victims because their age meant they should be in council care.

Local authorities, however, were not well enough equipped to protect the children and many became easy prey for trafficking gangs hunting them down.

Mr Davis said: "The idea of a girl of 15 from Estonia going to one of these centres and being turned away just makes me want to cry."

He said an effective border police force with full enforcement powers would be well placed to lead the hunt for trafficking victims and gangs.

People-trafficking was made a specific criminal offence in 2003. But opposition critics claim far too few prosecutions are being brought given the massive scale of the problem, with just 16 cases last year.