Warning girls in town being lured into drug running

A youth worker has warned girls in a market town are being lured into drug running by gangs operating across county lines.

Kate Champneys has worked with several teenagers in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, who she said were groomed with gifts and affection.

Champneys, of the Engage Youth and Family Service, which supports vulnerable young people, said: "They'll end up being runners for the men who get hold of them, they'll give it to them and ask them to drop it off somewhere. That's happened a lot in Melton."

The issue led to music and arts project Girls Rock! being awarded a crime prevention grant to protect other girls from being exploited by county lines gangs.

Champneys said drug dealers from out of town usually targeted boys, but had also groomed several teenage girls with jewellery and money.

She said she was shocked to see girls in "rural Melton" being targeted when she began working there seven years ago, adding that it happened as the town was easily accessible from Leicester and Nottingham.

She added she had also supported two vulnerable teenagers who were taken out for meals and exploited for sex.

Melton Learning Hub now offers a "safe space" where teenagers are encouraged to understand the risks they could face and ask for help.

The Girls Rock! project uses creative arts to help them open up about their feelings and challenges and build confidence to resist peer pressure.

It was recently awarded a £10,000 grant from Leicestershire and Rutland's Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews to help prevent girls being exploited.

As part of its work, sessions have been offered by creative education charity Pedestrian to encourage girls to express themselves by writing song lyrics, or designing posters.

Whitney, 14, said Girls Rock! had boosted her confidence.

"It just brings up your self-esteem a lot, and it makes you not care what other people think, especially when you're making music," she said.

Project co-ordinator Ameerah Dawood said it offered young people the chance to channel personal feelings and issues they might be going through.

She said: "It's not 'what are you going through?' It's 'here's the creative activity, let's talk about it, let's unpack something'.

"They might have violence in the home, they might have peers around them that are getting involved in difficult things, they might feel pressure."

Dawood added a lot of attention was given to boys and their relationship to drugs, but people forgot girls.

"They might have a parent or a boyfriend or someone who is involved in those things, and that's exactly what these projects are for," she said.

Matthews said Girls Rock! had led to improvements in school attendance and created new opportunities.

"I firmly believe crime is not inevitable," he said. "This is why prevention lies at the heart of my Police and Crime Plan.

"We will be looking closely at the outcomes of this project to see what can be learned and applied in future provision."

Leicestershire Police said a specialist child exploitation team had been set up to keep young people safe.

Det Insp Michelle Goddard said: "The force continues to work alongside representatives from several partner agencies to tackle county lines offending and exploitation of children in criminality.

"Such offences can occur anywhere within our force area - including in city and more rural environments.

"The force has a specialist, dedicated multi-agency child exploitation team made up from representatives of different organisations who share information and work together to keep children and young people safe."

The force has also launched a campaign called Are You Listening? to inform parents, teachers and those working with children and young people to spot the signs of exploitation.

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