In 2011, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre reported more than 2,000 cases of young people being internally trafficked and exploited sexually. It was though – and many of the paedophiles involved – including her mother – would be sent to prison for their part in what happened to Dana and Heather. Heather was never abused at home, a fact Fowley can only put down to some strange kind of control Dunsmore and King were trying to exercise in case one of the children "told".

She always wanted her own children but had a couple of miscarriages before Jordan, the first of her two sons, was born.

When Dana Fowley talks about her partner Paul and her children, when she talks about love, you sense that triumph.

Barnardo’s, which last year launched the Cut Them Free campaign to stop child sexual exploitation, has issued guidance leaflets for teachers and other professionals. I found myself crying a lot as I discovered what a depraved, violent and sickening childhood she had endured. The Scottish Government has announced plans to stop automatic release for prisoners jailed for serious offences after two-thirds of their sentence.

She claimed she recently met Thomas at the St James Centre in Edinburgh where he told her she was "welcome" to attend a September ceremony in the Capital. Dana Fowley we thank you for being strong, even at times when it was the last thing you wanted to do! That the main instigator of the paedophile ring was actually the mother of the two abused girls is shocking enough, but that the girl’s father, step-father and grandparents all took part in the abuse is disturbing. But most importantly, schools should learn to address abuse directly, throughout the school years, and openly challenge the stigma and shame that young survivors feel so that neither they nor their peers would attach any blame to the victims. Her grandfather, William Dunsmore, was released from prison in 2009 after serving three-and-a-half years of a five-year sentence.