PREDATORY men suspected of grooming children for sex could be stopped immediately if a new type of Asbo-style banning order was introduced, local government leaders say.

And the calls have been backed by Bradford's children's services boss, Councillor Ralph Berry, who said it would help them battle grooming "gangs and networks".

Too often, officials are powerless to intervene in suspicious behaviour with children because no offence was being committed, according to the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils in England and Wales.

The LGA and children's charity Barnardo's are now calling for the next government to introduce new 'disruption orders', which would give social workers and police a way of intervening when they suspect a child is being groomed but does not have enough evidence for a criminal prosecution.

The orders would see suspected groomers banned from certain types of activity, such as hanging around outside schools.

In Birmingham, the city council has been trialling a similar scheme, by using civil injunctions against men believed to be exploiting children.

Cllr Berry, executive member for children's services at Labour-led Bradford Council, said the Birmingham trial had been "a very innovative piece of work" and said he "absolutely" backed the calls for the new powers.

He said: "Anything that adds to our range of tools we can use to tackle this crime is welcomed.

"We can make more aggressive moves on the gangs and networks that do this, in a way that is pretty assertive. I think it is a good idea."

Councillor David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA's children and young people board, said: "Few parents would be comfortable if their children were spending their time in the company of older men and coming home with expensive gifts and smelling of alcohol.

"But the reality is that there have been concerned mums and dads who have had to stand by, powerless, as their children have been groomed by vile sexual predators.

"At present sanctions to prevent the grooming of vulnerable children are too limited and we need to make it easier to intervene earlier before harm is done."

Between April 2014 and March 2015, 481 potential child sexual exploitation cases were reported to the authorities in Bradford.

There are 48 separate investigations under way involving 31 suspects, of whom 18 are Asian, 11 white British and two central or eastern European.

Thirteen people have been charged with offences in the past six months. Of these, seven are awaiting trial, four were convicted, one was found not guilty and one was given a caution.