Parents ban their children from playing outside after learning Rochdale sex gang groomer fighting deportation is visiting his family nearby

• Gang preyed on young girls in the town in a scandal which shocked the country
• Many of the gang have been freed from prison, with four fighting deportation
• One of those has been spotted back in the town visiting his wife and children
• Local parents are angry that he has been allowed back to the area again 

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Abdul Rauf is back in Rochdale after he was freed from prison after serving half a six-year sentence he was handed for trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children

Parents in Rochdale are angry that one of the town's infamous sex abuse gang is back on their streets after being freed from prison.

Abdul Rauf was handed a six-year sentence in 2012 after a court heard he had sex with one of the gang's victims up to 30 times.

His conviction meant he was due to be deported back to Pakistan - but he is fighting that with the help of publicly-funded legal aid.

Locals in Rochdale are now angry that, following his release half-way through his prison sentence, he is now back in the Greater Manchester town.

Neighbours of his wife and children recently called the police after seeing him in the area - which is near two schools - in a baseball hat and glasses.

But officers said the father-of-five is entitled to visit his family on certain days under the terms of this licence.

Some parents are concerned about letting their children out when he is around, The Sun reported.

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Locals in Rochdale have expressed anger after seeing him in an apparent disguise. File photo

Rauf, Shabir Ahmed (left), Abdul Aziz (centre) and Adil Khan (right) are fighting deportation to Pakistan and will have their case heard by the Court of Appeal

A neighbour told the paper: 'No one could believe it when he first popped up... there are loads of kids around here and two schools.'

One of the victims of the sex ring recently told Good Morning Britain that she had come face to face with one of her abusers in Rochdale, although it is unclear whether Rauf was the man she was referring to.

She told the programme: 'I bumped into one [of the men] in my hometown a few weeks ago.

'I just froze because I was, like, what I do I do? There's nothing I can do. I've brought it to court, he was sentenced and now he's out.'

Rauf is one of four men fighting extradition, including Shabir Ahmed - who told his victims to call him 'daddy' - Adil Khan and Abdul Aziz.

They have been given permission to argue their case at the Court of Appeal, although a date for the case has not been arranged.

The actions of the sex gang were brought back to life in the BBC drama Three Girls, three-part drama watched by around five million shocked viewers earlier this year.

Ringleader Ahmed and eight accomplices, many of them taxi drivers, were jailed for a total of 77 years in 2012.

Only Ahmed, 64, who was caged for 22 years, and Mohammed Sajid, 40, who was jailed for 12 years, remain behind bars.

Mohammed Amin, 50; Abdul Qayyum, 49; and Hamid Safi, 27, were all jailed for five years or less and have now completed their sentences.

Like Rauf, Aziz and Khan, another of the gang, Kabeer Hassan, are also believed to have been released on licence after going beyond the half-way point of their sentences.