The government is starving our children of the resources I had growing up – no wonder they’re joining drug gangs

Retribution isn’t the answer. We need urgent investment in youth services to dissuade kids from easy money drug dealing

Schools should be a hub for all sorts of activities (JohnnyGreig/iStock)

Imagine an Ariana Grande concert where almost every young person in the audience has handled class A drugs. That’s not idle speculation or a fantasy, but a grim reality in modern Britain. Over 10,000 children in the UK are currently involved in “county lines” drug dealing and, according to the police, that figure is an extremely conservative estimate.

These modern slaves have been drawn into the highly organised network of several thousand gangs who send drugs from cities to customers in rural areas and small towns. They’re getting younger as primary school kids are increasingly being used as mules because they have no prior dealings with the police. Drug offences in many cities are actually declining as activity switches to outer areas.

We can’t stand by and see thousands of young people denied a childhood, lured by fake promises of affection, protection from bullying and pitifully small amounts of money or even sweets. When you are under ten years old, all you want is to be loved – you don’t want to be picked on, or even noticed. Gangs are exploiting vulnerable young people and once they have broken the law it is very difficult to leave without risk of reprisal.