ITV has defended an investigation into sex slave trading in Romania after local police claimed a girl featured in it was kidnapped by journalists.

In the report for ITV's News At Ten journalist Chris Rogers told how he bought a 14-year-old in the north east of the country. He took her to a shelter where she saw a doctor and was given clothes.

Afterwards, though, Romanian police said they had interviewed the girl, then told local news that she was actually 25 and had claimed she had been kidnapped.

The police also said the girl has now disappeared altogether.

ITV believes the dispute is down to officials in the country who want to deny the sex trafficking problem.

Some Romanian press have defended the ITV investigation. One report said authorities and police "refuse to accept his (Roger's) claims in the face of criticism".

An ITN spokeswoman said: "We have not been contacted by the Romanian police and none of these allegations have been put to us. ITV News fully stands by the story - it was fair, accurate and in the public interest."