Teenage girls wanting to join violent male gangs are being forced into having sex and ferrying guns, knives and drugs, police and charities have found.

The girls, some as young as 13, want to join gangs to raise their own profile or to seek protection. Often they are swayed by the status given to the senior members of the gang.

When they first join they are told they must have sex with one member of the gang — and then find several of the gang waiting for them.

What has shocked welfare workers is that the girls accept the situation as normal and do not appreciate that they are being violated.

The girls are also being asked to store and transport guns, knives and drugs for the male members of the gang and police have evidence that girls are taking guns direct to killers and then disposing of the weapons once someone has been shot.

The problem has been growing over the past couple of years, with charities getting ever more girls coming to them with tales of gang rapes, and yet reluctant to press charges.

Teresa Pointing, chief executive of In-volve, a charity helping young people drawn into violent situations, said: “These girls have no rights within these gangs, which are primitive in the way they operate.”

“The girls think they are going to be protected by the gang if they have sex with one person but then they find there are more boys there.”

The problem is growing at such a rate that the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police helped to fund a conference of different agencies earlier this month to discuss the issue. There is another meeting planned this week between the Metropolitan Police, the Home Office and the Greater London Authority to discuss how to deal with the matter.

But workers on the front line accuse the Government of not giving them enough funding.

So far this year, more girls have been caught carrying guns than in the whole of last year, with weapons including MAC10 machine-pistols. The weapons are capable of firing 1,000 rounds a minute and are known as “room-clearers”. In a recent raid by police targeting violent youth crime, 25 females aged between 14 and 39 were arrested in connection with assaults, drug offences and carrying weapons.

Superintendent David Chinchen, who deals with youth violence, said: “Young women are being dragged into the fringes of male criminality and gangs. We are seeing more elements of violence from girls within gangs.” He also said that officers had seen signs of girls becoming involved in sexual violence. Plans are under way to increase home visits to the parents of girls who officials believe are becoming involved in gangs and serious violence.

Dr Pointing added: “These girls are very much second-class citizens within the gangs but they see it as normal. That’s the bit that is most disturbing.”

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