A young victim of Brighton and Hove's sex trafficking trade today lifted the lid on the evil industry which enslaved her.

Stephanie, 17, tells the shocking story of how she escaped into the streets of the city after three months of abuse.

In an incredible interview Stephanie and those who helped her reveal how:

* She was forced into prostitution aged 12

* Sex-trafficked girls work in brothels in some of the city's most historic buildings

* Brighton is being targeted by traffickers because its near Gatwick

*At least 320 prostitutes are operating in the city

*Girls are having sex with up to 40 strangers a day.

Brighton and Hove is also being targeted because of its regular influx of visitors to the city at weekends, support workers believe.

Dozens of brothels have been set up in the city by pimps renting out cheap flats or studios.

Victims sell their bodies for as little as £15 a time for full sex.

Some of the brothels are dingy basement flats in the city's Regency squares, a world away from the splendour of the well-tended lawns and grand facades.

Police are now visiting brothels on a weekly basis in a bid to root out the traffickers.

Officers believe that dozens of girls could have been trafficked into the city, largely from West Africa and Eastern Europe.

Organised gangs travel to their victims' native countries and pay family members for the young girls before travelling back to Brighton via Gatwick.

The "dozen or so" cases of sex trafficking the police have dealt with in the past year are believed to be the "tip of the iceberg".

In her interview inside Stephanie tells how she was beaten and raped after arriving in Britain from Nigeria.

She was eventually rescued after escaping along Brighton's Ship Street crying: "Help me somebody! Help me!"

To read the full shocking story click here.