A growing number of women and children are being smuggled into Glasgow because of the city's "huge" prostitution scene, according to a campaigning group.

A report by Ecpat said more and more people were being brought into Scotland and then "exploited".

A spokeswoman for the network of organisations and individuals working to end the trafficking of women and children for sexual purposes said many of them were being brought to Glasgow.

However, the organisation has welcomed Scottish Executive moves aimed at tackling the problem.

There is a huge prostitution scene in Glasgow and we think this has a lot to do with the rising numbers of women and children being smuggled there

Epcat spokeswoman

Ecpat said women and children from China, Eastern Europe and Africa were being promised a better life in the UK.

However, they were instead being forced to work in private brothels, saunas and restaurants for very little, if any, income.

Most of them were too scared to leave or had no money to travel home.

Its spokeswoman said London used to be the main stop for the people smugglers.

But she said: "We have discovered that more and more of them are being taken to Scotland, notably Glasgow.

'Being exploited'

"There is a huge prostitution scene in Glasgow and we think this has a lot to do with the rising numbers of women and children being smuggled there."

The spokeswoman said that other Scottish cities had also provided a destination for some of the thousands of people smuggled into the UK every year.

"By the nature of their jobs it is difficult to pinpoint exactly where they are but we have heard they are there and are basically being exploited," she said.

However, the organisation has welcomed Scottish Executive moves to clamp down on the practice.

Organised crime

Earlier this year ministers announced that a new offence of "trafficking" was to be introduced to close a loophole in Scots law.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive said: "The executive recognises that legislation is needed to address the increasing involvement of organised crime in human trafficking.

"The executive will add provisions to the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill by way of amendment at Stage 2, to introduce an offence of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation."

The Ecpat spokeswoman said it was "a positive step forward and one we hope will be duplicated in other countries".