WE appreciate the fact that no laws appear to have been broken by the strange sex slavery sect operating in the North-East and, therefore, police have no grounds to take any action.

We do, however, believe that the activities taking place at a house in Darlington are a matter of serious public concern.

The vast majority of people will find the idea of women being encouraged into degrading sex slavery as extremely disturbing.

It is right to emphasise that no one is being kept at the house against their will and that, by and large, what goes on within the confines of a person's home remains a private matter.

But with so many vulnerable young people using the Internet, we believe it is right to alert parents to the existence of a cult which turns women into slaves, using chains, shackles and dog leashes.

The Internet is a powerful and potentially dangerous tool. We reveal today how it helped to persuade a Canadian woman to fly to Britain so she could become a sex slave in Darlington.

Within weeks, that journey had ended unhappily, with a concerned friend calling police, a raid on the house taking place, and help being needed to get her home.

We have also been in touch with the father of a teenage boy from Ipswich, who has joined the sect, leaving his family so frantic with worry that they have also called the police.

We apologise for publishing photographs today which some of our readers may find offensive. It is not something we would do lightly.

But we are worried - and we are sure you will be too.