BRITAIN’S CHILD DRUG RUNNERS
“Rebecca Coxon's film is a powerful reportage that paints a stark portrait of a troubling sub-culture.”
"We've all seen the headlines about county lines and the way in which vulnerable youngsters are groomed into the drugs trade, but Rebecca Coxon's hard-hitting and distressing report for Dispatches brings home the bleak reality of the lives of these children." - Sarah Hughes, The Telegraph
Children as young as 7 are being groomed to sell drugs for 'county lines’ in towns and villages all over the UK.
With extraordinary access, this film follows the children trapped in the dangerous world of drug running; exploring how they got into it and why they can’t get out.
With middle class families in rural Oxfordshire being affected, drugs gangs are no longer just operating in the big cities and it has become a priority for police forces around the country.
While the drugs gangs profit, many parents feel powerless as their children risk their lives carrying crack cocaine and heroin, and staying in so-called ‘trap houses’ for weeks at a time.
We follow police, parents and social workers trying to protect four young people and keep them safe, before it’s too late.
RUNTIME:
49 minutes
EDITOR:
Enda Mullen
DIRECTOR:
Rebecca Coxon
PRODUCER:
Rebecca Coxon
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:
Anna Hall and Brian Woods
RELEASED:
2019
RECEPTION
★★★★★
The Guardian
★★★★
The Telegraph
“Rebecca Coxon's film is a powerful reportage that paints a stark portrait of a troubling sub-culture.”
Radio Times
"With cocaine use in Britain doubling in the past 5 years, drug barons have expanded far beyond big city squalor to the grooming of middle-class children from rural market towns and public schools."
Mail on Sunday
"This documentary gains remarkable levels of access to young people involved, often reluctantly, in this grim trade and follows police, parents and social workers as they attempt to find solutions."
The Guardian
"Britain’s Child Drug Runners pulled no punches. Ostensibly a documentary about the notorious county lines, in reality this special Dispatches report was a tightly-argued case against the careless way we view drugs in the UK. It was impossible to watch without feeling both angry and incredibly sad"
The Independent
"This bleak Dispatchers follows the cases of four at-risk children and virtually defines 'hard-hitting'
The Times
"We’ve all seen the headlines about county lines and the way in which vulnerable youngsters are groomed into the drugs trade, but Rebecca Coxon’s hard-hitting and distressing report for Dispatches brings home the bleak reality of the lives of these children. ."
The Daily Telegraph
AWARDS
TV FOUNDATION 2019 Debut Director, Winner
RTS Yorkshire, Best Factual Production Nominee 2020
RTS Yorkshire Grant McKee Best Single Documentary Award, Nominee
EMERGENCY INFORMATION
If you are a young person who is worried about your involvement, or a friend's involvement in county lines, it might be helpful to speak to an adult you trust.
If you think that a child is in immediate danger please dial 999. Alternatively please contact your local authority social care department, or the NSPCC listed below.
If you are a child who needs help, please call Childline on:
0800 11 11 (Open 24 hours)
If you are worried about a young person being exploited by a criminal gang, the resources below may be helpful.
Thames Valley Police - County Lines Information
The Childrens Society - criminal exploitation and 'country lines' resources