A TEARFUL whistleblower told today of her frustration reporting the rape of children by grooming gangs in Rochdale — only to be ignored by police and the local council.

Former health worker Sara Rowbotham, now co-ordinator of the crisis intervention team set up to support local youngsters, became emotional at a press conference for a major report that has vindicated her after she had been scapegoated following the grooming scandal in the town.

The damning 173-page review covers 2004 to 2013 and sets out multiple failed investigations by the Greater Manchester Police and apparent local authority indifference to the plight of hundreds of children, mainly girls from poor backgrounds, all identified as potential victims of abuse in Rochdale.