A girl aged 12 was today reported to have told police who are holding Gary Glitter in custody in Vietnam that the former rock singer paid her for sex.

If proved, the fresh allegations, which have surfaced in the Thanh Nien ('Youth') newspaper, carry a maximum sentence of death by firing squad.

Glitter was detained by immigration officials on Saturday in Ho Chi Minh City while trying to board a flight for Bangkok.

Detectives had been searching for the singer since he disappeared from his rented seafront villa in the resort city of Vung Tau on November 12. This followed allegations that the former star, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, had been living with two teenage girls.

Gadd had reportedly been banned from a nightclub after Alan Davis, its owner, accused him of targeting teenage waitresses. Police were then alerted to his living arrangements.

The latest claims suggest that Gadd paid one of the girls £5.50 for sex. Sex with a girl under the age of 18 is automatically considered to be rape, which carries the maximum penalty of death or an almost unlimited sentence in one of the country's notoriously squalid prisons.

Do Minh Dan, deputy director of Ba Ria-Vung Tau provincial police, told reporters that a criminal investigation had been launched into the girl's claims.

"We can already say he has had sexual relations with Vietnamese adolescents," he added.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said that it was assisting: "We are aware of the arrest of a British national and consular support is being provided."

In Vung Tau, a police officer who refused to give his name said that the two girls, aged 12 and 18, claimed in interviews with police that they had gone to Gadd’s home and had sex with him there.

"Having sex with a 12-year-old girl, regardless of whether he had her consent, is still considered child rape under Vietnamese law," the police officer said on condition of anonymity, adding that the girls’ accusations are still under investigation.

Neighbours today said that they were surprised by the allegations. They said the only problem they had experienced was his occasional habit of singing too loudly.

"Before this I would never have suspected him of doing anything he’s accused of," Tran Cong Khanh, 48. told the AP news agency. "I thought he just liked children."

Mr Khanh said Gadd had been living in the house for about a year. In recent months, two girls who appeared to be in their mid-teens visited frequently and were often heard laughing and playing around in his swimming pool, Khanh said.

Last week, the Foreign Ministry said Gadd had been living in Vung Tau since March and had applied for permanent resident status in Vietnam. Authorities had interviewed a 15-year-old girl they found in Gadd’s home, ministry spokesman Le Dung said.

"If evidence of a (legal) violation is found against Mr Paul Francis, and especially evidence of sexual child abuse, I believe that very strict legal measures will apply to him," Dung said.

Gadd was convicted in Britain in 1999 of possessing child pornography after taking his computer to PC World to be mended. He served half of a four-month jail sentence before being released, and has since lived in Cuba and Cambodia.

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