CHILDREN who run away from home are at risk of being sexually exploited on the streets of Bolton, a shock report says.

The report, put together by Bolton Council, claims the town hall is not tackling the problem because of a lack of cash and clear direction.

Now local authority chiefs have vowed to take action.

Cllr Linda Thomas, Bolton Council's executive member for children's service, said: "We do recognise the seriousness of young people running away and the consequences of that.

"The issue of runaways is very worrying and we will be working to devise a strategy to deal with it by bringing agencies together."

In 2005, there were 760 reports of youngsters going missing from their homes in Bolton, 100 less than in 2004. Of that number, 401 were girls.

Statistics reveal that teenagers aged between 14 and 15 are most likely to go missing, with that age range accounting for 33 per cent of missing children reports.

Some youngsters ran away up to 20 times in 2005.

Research into the town's sex trade shows that of 200 people working the streets, many started after they ran away.

Until two years ago, a project called "Remember You Are Not Alone" was run by local charity Urban Outreach to address the problem.

But funding dried up in 2004 and since then the council has not drawn up an effective plan to tackle the problem, says the report, put together for a meeting of of the executive members for children and schools.

"In Bolton we have a great deal of knowledge and expertise gained over the past six years. We have a number of services that aim to meet this need, however, we lack a clear agreed and resourced strategy to meet that need," the report says.

Police investigate reports of missing children at a cost of approximately £1,000 a time.

Chief Supt Dave Lea, the head of Bolton Police, said: "The majority of children who go missing from home are very vulnerable and leave themselves at risk of exploitation.

"There are young people who go missing to engage in drugs or prostitution and others who are pulled into it because they need somewhere to stay."