SENIOR health bosses and councillors in Bradford yesterday heard a harrowing story of one woman's escape from abuse.

The woman, who was in her early 20s, had become pregnant in her late teens. The father of the child was a known drug user and their home life was described as "chaotic, dysfunctional and punctuated by criminal activity".

Robert Strachan, manager of Bradford Council's adult protection unit, said the woman's child was being looked after by her estranged parents.

But he said there were concerns that the woman herself was at risk.

He said: "There was some serious domestic violence going on. There were suggestions she had been raped and suggestions she was being beaten up."

Mr Strachan said the authorities found the woman to be "in an absolutely appalling state".

He said: "It was described as a concentration camp from the second world war. She was infested with fleas and she was literally starving."

But he said she had a mild learning disability, which meant she found it difficult to assess the risk she was in, and refused to leave her partner.

Mr Strachan said it appeared the woman was also being used as a "cash cow" for her benefits money.

He said various agencies worked together over a period of months to win the woman's trust. She eventually agreed to go through a formal safeguarding process and moved away from her partner.

He said: "Now she is working as a volunteer, she is at college and she is in contact with her child."

The shocking story was used as an example of a case where different agencies had worked together effectively to get a vulnerable adult to safety.

Bradford's Health and Wellbeing Board met yesterday to discuss the work being done to protect children and adults in the district from harm, neglect, violence or sexual abuse.

West Yorkshire Police superintendent Vince Firth, who is in charge of safeguarding children for Bradford District Police, gave an update on the work being done to tackle child sexual exploitation.

He said a Bradford snooker club had been closed down while officers investigate allegations it was being used in connection with child sex offences.

Earlier this month, magistrates agreed to shut down the Pot Black snooker club in Westgate for three months, in what was believed to be a UK first.

Supt Firth said places like takeaways, snooker halls and shisha bars were now under intense scrutiny and other closures could follow.

He said there were often signs that something was amiss at a premises.

He said: "We are finding they are doing things like taking smoke alarms down because they are smoking shisha downstairs, they've got locked rooms downstairs, they're selling food although they haven't got a licence. There's lots of weird things going on."