COUNCIL chiefs in Worcestershire say they are determined to ease the plight of missing children.

Worcestershire County Council has produced a report detailing what measures it takes to try and tackle young people who vanish for days on end.

The Advertiser revealed in March, since the 2009/10 financial year there have been 3,505 reported incidents of missing children, including 599 involving youngsters in care.

Of the total figure at least 18 reports involved babies from newborns to the age of two, 22 were aged three to six, 51 were aged seven to10 and a staggering 1,092 were teenagers aged 15 to 17.

In all but one case the missing child was found safely, but many were not located for days on end, with the longest investigation being eight days and nine hours.

After those findings a watchdog-style panel at County Hall, called the children and young people scrutiny committee, asked senior officers to produce a report on what steps are taken to try and ease the situation.

Each report of a missing child sparks costly social worker and police investigations, costing taxpayers' money.

The report says the working relationship with the council and police on missing youngsters is considered "robust" but admits there is "further work to do" to encourage more re-united children and families to take part in special council-led "return interviews" to address the reasons behind it.

It also insists there are no patterns emerging about missing children and concerns about sexual exploitation, suggesting there are no Rotherham-style abuse scandals in the county.

It also recommends that for the first time, the monthly in-house data on missing children produced by the council includes youngsters placed in care outside of Worcestershire - to flag up any concerns there.

It says: "Information about children who go missing from home or care is being triangulated with information about children flagged as at risk of child sexual exploitation.

"There is no current pattern emerging, but this is in its early stages and will continue to be monitored.

"Children who are placed outside the county do need to be included in our monthly reporting in order to track any emerging issues."

The findings unearthed two months ago was described as "very worrying" by children's charity the NSPCC, which says missing children are at far greater risk of grooming, drug abuse, harm and sexual exploitation.