Violence by drug gangs hitting kids

One in 20 youngsters aged 10 to 17 across Britain faces attack after being sucked into gang membership.

That rises to more than a third in the worst blackspots – Manchester and Middlesbrough – research reveals.

Police chiefs say gangs are exploiting ever-younger children to sell drugs.

Officers say they use “ultra-violence” with young recruits maintaining status by acts of “increasingly outrageous savagery”.

The new data from think-tank Crest Advisory reveals a 65% rise in under19s treated for stab wounds in the past five years.

Assistant director Sarah

Kincaid said the figures showed “systematic exploitation of young people”.

She said: “Unless urgent action is taken, more will become victims or perpetrators of serious violence – in many cases both.”

Children’s commissioner Anne Longfield found just 19% of recruits are known to authorities, while others go under the radar.