Five vulnerable teenage girls, including a 13-year-old, were given alcohol, drugs and takeaway food before being raped and "shared" by an organised gang over a two-year period, a court heard yesterday.

The victims, all from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, were attacked by "several" men in a single day, sometimes several times a week, it was claimed.

On the first day of a trial against 11 men at Liverpool Crown Court, the jury was told that the girls knew their attackers by nicknames such as "Master" and "Tiger".

They were subjected to violent exploitation at the hands of the defendants who took payments from other men in exchange for sexually assaulting them, it was claimed.

On some occasions it was alleged the victims were so incapacitated through alcohol or drugs that they were incapable of having any control over their actions.

Opening the case for the prosecution Rachel Smith told the jury: "No child should be exploited as these girls say they were."

Among the victims was a 14-year-old girl who said she had "lost count" of the number of times she was attacked.

Another victim, who was 15 when she met the defendants, told police that she was initially "flattered" by the attention of the gang although she quickly became depressed and "incapable of getting herself out of the situation," it was claimed.

Kabeer Hassan (24), Abdul Aziz (41), Abdul Rauf (43), Mohammed Sajid (35), Adil Khan (42), Abdul Qayyum (43), Mohammed Amin (44), Qamar Shahzad (29), Liaquat Shah (41), Hamid Safi (22), and a 59-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, deny all charges against them.

The court heard the men, all originally from Pakistan, were known to each other. Two worked in the Tasty Bites and Balti House takeaways in the Heywood area of Rochdale while four others were employed by local taxi firms. One was a student and the other four were unemployed.

The attacks took place between 2008 and 2009.

The trial continues.

^{(© Independent News Service)}