'I had to sleep with 10 men a day'

Maria was beaten and raped by her captors

As a dedicated police unit aimed at cracking down on human trafficking to London is launched, one victim tells of her experiences.

Aged just 15, Maria - whose name has been changed - found herself trapped far from home and being raped and beaten on a daily basis.

She had been lured from her home in Lithuania to the UK with the promise that she would be given work in a London bar.

But the bar job never materialised and instead Maria - who knew no English - was taken from London to Birmingham and then to Coventry and Sheffield.

She was forced by her brutal captors to work as a sex slave and had to sleep with as many as 10 men a day.

He told me I was in debt to him and threatened to kill me if I tried to escape Maria Boost for people trade fight

Her four-month ordeal finally ended when she was found crying in a nightclub bathroom by two British women who helped her escape.

Maria, now 18, is back in her homeland's capital Vilnius trying to rebuild her life. She told her story to warn others of what can happen.

She said a girlfriend initially received a call from a woman they did not know offering both work in London.

She told them they had been picked at random and persuaded the girls to go with the promise of good money.

Maria went alone after her friend pulled out and was met in London by two Albanian men and a Lithuanian woman. They immediately took her passport.

From London she was taken to Birmingham and told she had been found a job.

Massive debt

She said: "When I asked what kind of job, I was told it was a job with men. I was then told I had been sold and if I tried to escape it would be very bad."

She had no option but to start working as a prostitute in the brothel. When she was not working she was locked in.

She was told by her brutal Albanian captor she owed him £3,500 and she was never given any money for her work.

"He used to beat me and rape me, I was in fear of him all the time. He told me I was in debt to him and threatened to kill me if I tried to escape," she said.

She escaped but was betrayed by a woman she had met and was soon sold to another pimp and taken to Coventry.

Escape

She was sold again and moved to Sheffield. It was there that Maria managed to finally escape from her nightmare.

She was taken to a nightclub to find clients and managed to ask two women for help.

"I told them the situation and they helped me. As we left the bathroom one of them grabbed me by the hand and we merged into the crowd," she said.

Finally safe, Maria gave evidence in court in the UK against the three Albanians and the Lithuanian woman who met her at the airport.

One man was jailed for 17 years, another for 18 years and the third given seven years. The Lithuanian woman was released.

Maria now hopes to go into work as a beautician.

"I want to re-build my life," she said. "I would say to any girl - definitely do not get involved in all of this."