Hundreds of children 'vanishing'

Hundreds of African boys have disappeared from London schools, police investigating the murder of a boy whose torso was left in the Thames have said.

Scotland Yard asked London education authorities how many black boys aged four to seven had vanished from school.

Between July and September 2001, 300 children had disappeared and police fear thousands may go missing annually.

Child welfare experts say the figures show the scale of child trafficking, sometimes for labour or benefit fraud.

A previous investigation by BBC Radio Four found that some African children were being held by their parents' creditors ...

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