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Boys as young as 13 were lured into drug gangs with offers of cash and gifts, said police launching a campaign against joining criminal gangs.

British Transport Police (BTP) said officers had seen messages from drug dealers asking "who wants to make £500 this weekend?" to draw youngsters in.

Up to 40% of gang suspects arrested by BTP since 2019 were under 19.

Its new Snapchat campaign aims to deter boys in Birmingham, Liverpool and London from joining criminal networks.

BTP hopes it stops boys, especially those aged 13 to 15, from being exploited by drug dealers to carry illegal substances by train as part of county lines networks.

Det Supt Gareth Williams, BTP's County Lines Taskforce lead, said: "It's not uncommon for my dedicated teams to encounter children on the railway who are being exploited to traffic drugs.

"Supported by safeguarding experts, a key priority of ours is to identify these victims and pull them out of harm's way.

"The youngest person we've found being exploited in county lines activity was a boy aged 13 - in that case the couple controlling him to courier drugs were jailed for over 12 years."

Drug gangs are run from urban bases that stretch out to customers in rural areas, using young and vulnerable people as couriers.

Dealers offer cash, mobile phones, vapes and clothes in so-called "business opportunities" promoted on social media, BTP said.

Of the under-19s arrested, only 20% have faced criminal charges because many are recognised as victims of exploitation.

Mr Williams said officers were "relentless in our pursuit of these heartless human traffickers" and used modern slavery legislation to hopefully ensure lengthy jail terms.

In a survey of 1,500 boys aged 13 to 19 commissioned by BTP, 19% said they or a friend had been offered work by a drug dealer and 15% had seen drugs being offered or sold on social media.

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