Nine men have been arrested after police said that they had uncovered a suspected second child-sex grooming ring in east Lancashire.

The men, aged between 24 and 38 and from Rochdale, have been questioned on suspicion of sexually abusing a girl.

It is the latest investigation by Greater Manchester Police, who smashed a child-sex ring that last week led to the jailing of nine men. Officers said the new arrests were not directly related to the conviction of the nine Asian men from Rochdale and nearby Oldham who were jailed over the sexual exploitation of white girls as young as 13.

The latest allegations of abuse are believed to involve a six-year period starting in 2005 when the girl was in her teens. Sources have described her as “extremely vulnerable”. Detectives investigating the case are understood to have carried out video interviews with the girl, who told them that she knew the men only by nicknames.

One senior detective said: “Inquiries are continuing. Just because the trial has finished and nine men have been convicted does not mean the operation has stopped. We are continuing to chip away.”

The men involved in the most recent allegations have been bailed pending further inquiries. A file of evidence on the new arrests is expected to be handed over to the Crown Prosecution Service within weeks.

During the trial that led to last week’s convictions, five girls gave evidence of the abuse they suffered between 2008-2010.

Read More:http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/may/13/police-child-grooming-rochdale-investigation?newsfeed=true