Half of Slough's hotels have failed police tests designed to monitor their alertness for sexual abuse.

The objective of the police operation, which took place on Thursday was to test the reaction of front of house staff when a man attempted to book a room at the hotel while accompanied by two underage girls.

An attempt to purchase alcohol was also made.

Four establishments were visited by Thames Valley Police during the operation.

Two hotels out of the four visited in Slough failed the test. One hotel was willing to rent one double room to the plain clothes police officer with the two children without appropriate checks being made, or any call being made to the police regarding a suspicious booking.

At the second hotel, two adjacent double rooms were sold to the officer together with an inappropriate alcohol sale in the bar, without appropriate checks and no call being made to the police.

The other two hotels denied them a room and alcohol, however no call was made to police.

Neighbourhood Inspector for Slough Jonathan Stanley, who led the operation, said, “It was disappointing that some staff did not spot the signs of sexual exploitation. Thames Valley Police will work with the premises to strengthen their procedures and will continue to work in partnership with all Slough hoteliers to promote safe environments for children and deny offenders venues to commit crime.

“It was pleasing to see that some hotel staff asked probing questions. This is exactly what we want to see and they have set the benchmark that we want some of the others to now reach.

“There is a Hotel Watch scheme in place in Slough and these operations will continue to ensure the safety of those living and working in our area.”