THREE young men have been arrested after a series of dawn raids to counter child sexual exploitation in Bolton.

A 19-year-old was taken into custody in Great Lever on suspicion of grooming and a 22-year-old man was arrested in Bolton on suspicion of grooming and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Later a second 19-year-old, of Halliwell, was arrested on suspicion of possession of indecent images of children and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Four suspects had been identified and officers executed three search warrants at addresses and visited a fourth house this morning at 7am under the codename Operation Nimrod, carried out as part of the GMP-wide Child Sexual Exploitation Week of Action.

The Bolton News: ARRESTS: Detective Sergeant Lisa Clarke said the Operation Nimrod raids were a success, with two arrests madeARRESTS: Detective Sergeant Lisa Clarke said the Operation Nimrod raids were a success, with two arrests made

Detective Sergeant Lisa Clarke, of the Bolton Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, pictured above, said: "We have the mobile phone of a 14-year-old girl who is very vulnerable.

"She is a high risk victim of child sexual exploitation.

"Through her allowing us to look through that phone, numerous sexual offences have come to light including grooming, the possession of indecent images of children and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

"As a result of that work, three warrants were executed this morning and three adult males have been arrested. It is a great success.

"Their houses have been searched and various mobile storage devices will be seized and the suspects interviewed today."

The Bolton News: RAID: Four teams of five officers visited four addresses in Bolton to try to catch suspectsRAID: Four teams of five officers visited four addresses in Bolton to try to catch suspects

Four teams of five officers in vans carried out Operation Nimrod, which was the brainchild of the Bolton CSE Unit.

It consists of six PCs and one sergeant as well as one children's services manager and five children's services staff known as the Phoenix Exit Team.

Det Sgt Clarke said: "We work together to keep children safe and we have really good links with health visitors, housing staff and youth support.

"The Exit Team has been in place since 2013 and we share information.

"It is not just the police who can stop things happening. We deal with offences and criminality but the identification of children will come from areas such as youth workers."

The focus on this week's CSE Week of Action is people who are missing from home and is as much about preventative work as reacting when offences have occurred.