Social workers waited three fatal weeks before acting on a decision to put a heroin-addicted child prostitute into a secure home, it emerged last night.

A damning report has found that Aliyah Ismail, 13, had already gone missing and was just two days from being found dead in a central London flat when social services officials moved to obtain an order to ensure her safety.

The review by the Area Child Protection Committee for Harrow, London, accused local social services of failing the teenager by not acting with sufficient speed or resolve when she was at risk.

It found ''significant shortcomings'' in the way Aliyah's case was handled by 10 separate childcare agencies before her death from a methadone overdose in the King's Cross red light district last October.

The report said: ''This case seriously demonstrates a lack of child care and child protection planning, poor inter-agency communication and a failure to implement multi-agency procedures.''

The tragedy happened after the youngster had been cared for by 68 different people, including her separated parents.

Despite knowing that Aliyah had told one of her welfare workers she was working as a prostitute, Harrow social services chiefs failed to trigger a ''fast-track'' process to obtain a secure accommodation order, the report found.

The youngster, who was reportedly diagnosed as suffering from a series of venereal diseases, was taken into care in March last year after her mother admitted no longer being able to control her.

Case workers decided on September 24 last year to seek the order to place Aliyah, referred to as Child I, in secure care. But inexplicably they then waited until October 16 - two days before her death - before acting.

The teenager, who was missing for five days before police found her body lying in a bedsit on October 18, could also have been put under lock and key for 72 hours before the decision had to be confirmed by a judge.

The ACPC review, which is a summary of a full investigation which remains secret, said: ''The local authority agreed to seek a Secure Accommodation Order on October 16, 1998. At the time Child I was missing.

''Therefore the 72-hour provision was never activated and subsequent application for the order was not made, as Child I died before this could happen.''

While recognising the dilemma faced by Aliyah's carers, the report heavily criticised staff for failing to act in September and called for procedures to be improved.

It said: ''In this case it is acknowledged that the local authority's response was not sufficiently robust or timely, and that there are lessons to be learnt.''

Ms Mary Ney, director of Harrow social services, admitted her department had failed to follow its own guidelines. Two members of staff have been suspended pending a disciplinary investigation into their conduct. She said: ''It is correct that we did not follow our procedures. There was an option to fast-track the process obtaining a secure accommodation order but this did not happen.''

It also emerged that Aliyah was not on the Child Protection Register in the year before her death - which could have allowed social workers to respond more rapidly.

The report, drawn up by independent childcare expert Maddie Blackburn, was welcomed by Harrow Borough Council for raising ''fundamental questions'' about tackling child prostitution.

Mr Keith Toms, deputy leader of Harrow Council, said: ''Young people such as Aliyah pose enormous challenges for us all. It is vital we do everything to learn the lessons and to support staff in reducing the chances of mistakes in the future.''

A picture emerged from the report of the grim life led by the teenager, who had made allegations of abuse against her family and other unnamed acquaintances shortly before her death.

Despite her claims, little was done to help Aliyah or treat her as a victim, the review concluded. It said: ''During the last year of her life, Child I became victim of child prostitution and drug use which may have led to her premature and unfortunate death.

''She was a victim of coercion and not a criminal.

''Yet little was done to identify the adult abusers and take action to pursue prosecution.''