Air Time

The practice of county lines - where young children are groomed and exploited by organised crime groups who send them the length and breadth of the UK to carry drugs and money - is now well known, with police treating tackling it as a priority. But back in 2016, county lines was a little known phrase that hadn't hit the headlines - until an ITV News report by National Editor Allegra Stratton revealed it to a national audience. Allegra was given a leaked Home Office document which described it as a “new type of organised crime” that is “unreported”. In the following three years, Allegra has continued to report on the growing problem. In this episode, Allegra reveals how she first came to learn about county lines, and the encounters she's since had with victims and their parents.Subscribe to Air Time to hear more from our correspondents and producers about the story behind the stories they cover, and what it takes behind the scenes to get their reports on air.#AirTimeITV