Staff at a Birmingham hotel where a vulnerable teenage girl might have been exploited by a number of Asian men have been praised by a High Court judge.

Mr Justice Keehan said police had asked hotels in the city to be on the lookout for the 17-year-old girl, who was in the care of Birmingham City Council and had gone missing.

The judge said a member of staff at the Birmingham Hotel on Golden Hillock Road had recognised the girl when she appeared at the hotel in August.

He said the girl had initially been prevented from entering.

Shortly afterwards staff realised that the girl - who was seen leaving with three "Asian males" - had got in, and had alerted police The judge said hotel staff had acted "entirely appropriately" and bosses had co-operated with authorities.

He suggested that other hotels might adopt the same approach as authorities tried to prevent the sexual exploitation of girls.

Mr Justice Keehan recently concluded that 10 men from the Birmingham area had sexually exploited the girl after analysing evidence at hearings in the Family Division of the High Court in Birmingham and London.

The judge heard that the girl had been found at a number of hotels with men.

He imposed injunctions barring the men from contacting the teenager and from approaching girls they did not know, following applications from Birmingham council bosses, and ruled that they could be identified in media reports. The men could be jailed for being in contempt of court if found to have breached the orders.

He made his comments at a High Court hearing in London today after concluding that journalists should be allowed to identify the hotel.

Birmingham City Council had initially taken legal action against the owners of the Birmingham Hotel - gaining an injunction forcing staff to raise the alarm if the girl was spotted.

Council bosses had later dropped legal moves after reaching agreement with hotel bosses.

Hotel bosses had not wanted the hotel's name to be revealed A lawyer representing owners said the hotel was an "innocent party" and "in no way" involved in child sex exploitation.

But Jeremy Weston QC said some people might wrongly think that there was "no smoke without fire".

He said bosses feared that their business could be damaged.

The Times newspaper and the Press Association news agency disagreed.

They said hearings had been staged in public, the judge had analysed issues of public concern and legal action had at one stage been launched against the hotel.

And they said it was right that the hotel should be identified and journalists allowed to report the judge's comments.

Mike Dodd, legal editor of the Press Association, said the judge should not ask why journalists wanted to report but why they should be prevented from reporting.

The judge agreed with the media's argument and allowed the hotel's name to be revealed.

But he stressed: "I make it entirely clear that the (hotel) at all relevant times acted entirely appropriately and co-operated with the authorities.