POLICE have stressed their commitment to taking down the gang leaders targeting Swindon children.

It comes as analysis by the Children’s Commissioner suggests that as many as 70,000 young people up to 25-years-old could be part of a gang network.

Anne Longfield told The Times newspaper children as young as 10 are involved in drug running gangs. In Swindon, these so-called county lines gangs have largely taken over the heroin and crack cocaine trade. Wiltshire Police detectives say they have picked up teen dealers trafficked from London in Swindon parks late at night who have no idea which town they are in.

The Children’s Commissioner called on the government to join a “moral crusade” against what she termed the gang’s criminal exploitation of young people. She told The Times: “Just like with paedophiles and traffickers, they trap victims into a triple trap of debt, threat, and enticement ...The children are seen as disposable in these drugs organisations.”

Responding to the comments, Wiltshire Police said they were committed to protecting society’s most vulnerable.

A force spokeswoman said: “As part of this commitment, we are currently running a pilot focusing on child criminal exploitation with a focus on children living in Swindon who may be at risk of being criminally exploited, being forced, coerced, threatened or compelled to commit crime by another person or group.

“Working closely with children’s services at Swindon Borough Council and allocated social workers, the priority is to target perpetrators. This involves building up an intelligence picture in order to disrupt and prosecute adults who seek to exploit children and prosecute them.

“In addition to this, civil risk orders under the Modern Slavery Act can be considered, which place restrictions on adults in a bid to protect vulnerable children. This pilot puts children at the heart and seeks to understand why they may fall into criminality in the first instance, and explore the possibilities of exploitation.

“Children can often be reluctant to engage with police through fear of reprisal or reputation so it is important that we work closely with parents to ensure they are supportive of the work we are doing to protect their children.”