‘I was a drug courier aged 11 - why did nobody save me?'
By Claire Kendall and Jeremy CookeEvery week, children criss-cross the UK on buses and trains, ferrying drugs as part of county lines operations. BBC News spent months with one organisation battling to help children who are in danger, hearing young people's stories of abuse and their families' heartbreak, and learning what it takes for them to break free. Three people tell us their story of county lines.
On one devastating trip, Nicole was travelling south, beyond London. She says she cried in the toilets at every station she stopped at. After two years of violence, abuse, fear and broken promises, just as she reached her lowest point, Nicole was able to grab a chance to escape.Exploited children keep county lines supplied with drugs by carrying shipments from big cities
"I couldn't stress to people enough that it doesn't matter how scared you are. You are valid. Your feelings are valid. You are never that stuck," she says. "He's my little boy and I can't protect him and he is out there," she says. "That's one thing I always promised when I had children, to protect them and to love them as much as I could. And I can't do that."help and advice can be found hereShe says some signs were obvious - hanging around in gangs with masks, all dressed in black. She says there was a change in the music he listened to.
With the help of workers at Edge North East, an organisation that specialises in mentoring children caught up in serious violence, or county lines, she hopes there is a way out for her son. But for now, he's still missing and Sarah is still waiting."I'm stuck in this trap house. I don't know how to get home, would you be able to get us home?" That's the kind of phone call Andy and the team at Edge North East often get.
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