Gang network snared her on Facebook TO ME NOW 6 nicked each day

NEARLY 40 vulnerable schoolkids are being arrested each week on suspicion of peddling class A drugs for violent street gangs, many after getting caught up in County Lines.

Children as young as 12 have been arrested after they were recruited to work as drug runners.

The scale of the problem highlighted by our investigation was described as shocking by MPS and charities last night.

As many as 1,950 youngsters under the age of 16 were preyed on by drug kingpins and held by officers over the last 12 months for dealing crack cocaine and heroin.

It is feared that some drug gangs recruit youngsters, often with the threat of violence, knowing kids are likely to attract less suspicion.

And gang leaders believe that children who are caught may be dealt with more leniently than an adult.

In Liverpool, police admitted that among the 86 children arrested last year for dealing drugs there were two 12-year-olds and five 13-year-olds.

In London – where 486 child drug dealers were arrested – there were 16 occasions where boys and girls aged only 13 were nabbed for peddling illegal substances.

And the statistics showed one in 12 of those arrested were girls.

Anne Coffey MP, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Missing Children and Adults, said: “What we really need is to prevent these children getting involved in gangs in the first place.

“Once they are embedded, there are many barriers that prevent them from leaving – fear of retribution for their families, fear of violence.

And they have no confidence that they will be protected. “We need really to be tackling this problem before these children reach the age of 12 because no child is too young.”

We received Freedom of Information responses from 33 of the 44 police forces in England and Wales.

They revealed 1,473 children aged 16 or under had been arrested last year for suspicion of supplying drugs or having drugs with intent to supply.

Anastasia de Waal, director of the Family and Education Unit at the Civitas Think Tank, said: “The figures expose a troubling situation.” Forces with most kids arrested Metropolitan Police Thames Valley Hampshire West Midlands Merseyside Suffolk Norfolk Dorset West Yorkshire Gloucestershire Devon and Cornwall 486 140 96 90 86 51 50 40 35 31 31