An author and police officers visited a school in North Yorkshire to warn pupils about the dangers of getting involved with county lines crime.

Christina Gabbitas joined North Yorkshire Police’s school liaison team on a visit to Barlby High School, near Selby.

The author was commissioned to write the book Trapped by County Lines. It tells the story of youngsters groomed and exploited into county lines crime and facing the consequences.

Tom McNaught-Roberts, assistant vice principal at Barlby High School, felt the book gave a “shocking snippet” into the world of county lines crime and said the session was “very impactful”.

“The students were taking about the session in the corridors and have been asking question about it since,” he said.


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“It’s really important and valuable to have these resources in our schools.”

Christina said pupils were “very engaged” with the story.

“The more schools I visit the more I realise that county lines and all that encompasses isn’t widely understood,” she explained.

Sergeant Heidi Lewis from North Yorkshire Police said more children and young people are being “exploited and groomed” into county lines crime and the story helps raise awareness of this.