Gangs use children

COUNTY lines drug gangs are fuelling a rise in the number of British children being used as slaves, with cases more than doubling in a year.

Figures released by the National Crime Agency showed the number of modern slavery cases involving UK minors went from 676 in 2017 to 1,421 in 2018.

Nearly two-thirds of the 2018 cases, 987, were linked to labour exploitation, which includes by county lines and other criminal gangs.