Mistakes were made by care agencies handling the case of murdered schoolgirl Laura Kane, a report said yesterday.

Nine-year-old Laura from Penshaw near Sunderland was abducted, raped and murdered by family friend, Colin Bainbridge in August last year.

He was sentenced to life at Newcastle Crown Court in June this year.

Today's report following an inquiry into the case of the dead child said "concerns about parenting within Laura's family were not followed up consistently and family standards remained unchallenged".

But the report commissioned by the local child protection committee said that nothing could have been done to save the girl from the man who killed her.

After Bainbridge's trial it emerged Laura had been on the council's at risk register.

The independent report published today said: "There was no complacency about improving the protection of children at risk of significant harm."

But it added: "The review report, however, needs to be set within the context of the judge's assessment of the perpetrator of the murder Colin Bainbridge.

"He was a man who was not a member of the family, was not known to the agencies involved and had no record that would have given them cause for concern."

Sunderland's director of social services John Marsden said care workers had failed to spot warning signs because of the family's circumstances.

"I think that poverty masked the abuse and neglect and people could not see through the impact of what was going on in the family."

He revealed that the various agencies, including police probation and health services, had been involved with the family for the last 10 years.

The report set out 23 recommendations to improve the monitoring of at risk children, including steps to better collate the vast amount of information about families such as Laura's.

Mr Marsden said no one had been disciplined following the case. He said no individual was to blame for any deficiencies in the handling of the case.

He said such a report as that published today followed any death or abuse of a child on the at risk register.

The document will go to the Department of Health for consideration.