ACCUSATIONS of complacency have been levelled at Conservative county councillors over the handling of the South Oxhey sexual abuse saga.

Police and social services are investigating allegations a gang of about 20 men, aged between their late teens and mid-50's, have been befriending and then assaulting girls in South Oxhey.

About 20 girls, aged between 12 and 16, have alleged they have been sexually assaulted and, one claims, raped.

The mothers of a number of victims have contacted The Watford Observer and claimed the men responsible are Irish travellers who have been operating in South Oxhey and in other areas for a number of years.

During a special meeting of County Hall's social services committee last Friday, Labour councillors proposed to widen the warning of the sex gang's activities to communities further afield. Conservative members voted it down.

According to South Oxhey Labour county councillor Jane Hobday, Conservative councillors refused to offer advice and guidance to other communities that may be under threat.

She said: 'Their complacency in the light of these events has been outrageous.'

Labour's social services spokesman Roma Mills said: 'We know people who abuse girls in this way are unlikely to stop suddenly.

'It is likely they are still targeting girls in Hertfordshire or elsewhere. We believe parents and their daughters should be warned about the danger.'

Labour also criticised the decision to delay publicising the allegations until a press conference held on Friday, July 30.

However, committee chairman, Conservative councillor Julia Price, accused the Labour group of trying to score political points.

She said there was no point warning other communities until there was 'concrete information' the gang was operating elsewhere, and social services had enough resources to cope.

She said: 'We don't want to start mass hysteria because a lot of what is going around is hearsay, and the press will have informed a lot of people anyway.

'If we do hear something definite then we will target other areas. In the meantime, we will be doing everything we can to catch these men.'

Explaining the delay in publicising the abuse allegations, a county council report to the committee said there were no fresh allegations after November, and the time since then had been spent trying to gain the girls' trust in the hope they might give formal statements.

The report stated earlier publicity may have caused anxiety in the community, and there was no evidence other girls may be at risk.