CRIMINAL gangs are targeting vulnerable ports, such as Poole, to traffic children they can exploit for labour and illegal activity into the UK.

Children's rights organisation Ecpat (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking) says trafficking into the country is on the increase.

And ports like Poole have become soft targets due to their relative isolation and perceived lack of awareness of the problem.

Christine Beddoe, director of Ecpat, said: "Our concern, especially at sea ports, is they are often quite exposed and there aren't specialised child protection officers at them.

"If you were a trafficker, these are the sort of places you would target.

"What is important is knowing what to look for, but there isn't the specialisation in many ports."

Children shipped in are exploited for forced manual or domestic labour, forced marriage or even prostitution.

Globally, around half a million people are trafficked each year, earning criminals up to £10 billion.

Trafficking differs from smuggling in that there is the intent to exploit the individuals who are trafficked in.

Mrs Beddoe said: "Wherever criminality can make a quick profit, children are often targeted in that."

The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) said the second wave of Operation Pentameter, the first co-ordinated effort to tackle human trafficking on a national scale, was due to start next month.

A spokesman for the agency said: "The government is committed to identifying and supporting victims of all forms of human trafficking, including victims of sex and forced labour- men, women and children.

"Combating trafficking is part of the core BIA business of enforcing compliance with immigration laws and reducing the harm caused by illegal immigration."

The trafficking warning comes with Poole on high alert for illegal immigrants trying to enter the country from Cherbourg.

Immigrants are setting up makeshift camps at the French port as they desperately try to force a way into the UK on the backs of lorries or on ferries.

Jim Stewart, chief executive of Poole Harbour Commissioners, reassured the public there were "robust security measures" in place at the port.

On child trafficking, he said the port authority were "not aware" of such trade through Poole, but added it was the responsibility of immigration and the Special Branch.