Kevin looks down when a housing support worker, Jonny Goldsmith, asks him to explain why he needed to be urgently rehoused last year. “You came to us and you had to be moved with a few hours’ notice due to the risk and level of violent threats made to you that day, didn’t you?” Goldsmith said, looking at Kevin.

Kevin, whose real name cannot be used for safety reasons, struggles to say it – but he had become the victim of cuckooing, where criminals target the homes of people who are vulnerable and make them the centre of a local drug operation.

Before things would get better for Kevin they got worse, when rival drug dealers turned up at his house and broke in with hammers and knives. The 28-year-old realised things had gone too far and told the housing charity P3: People Potential Possibilities, which immediately moved him to a nearby Lincolnshire market town.

Quick guide What is ‘county lines’ and who are the victims? Show Hide What does the term ‘county lines’ mean? The name ‘county lines’ refers to the phone numbers, or lines, that criminal gangs which traffic drugs from urban to rural areas use to organise the sale of their wares. Gangs in cities such as London, Birmingham and Liverpool use children to deal mostly heroin and crack cocaine over a network of dedicated mobile phones to smaller towns and rural areas. Who are the victims and how are they recruited? The majority of victims groomed into working for gangs are 15- to 17-year-old boys but children as young as 11 have been safeguarded and girls have been targeted.

Many victims are recruited over social media, with offenders luring them with images of cash, designer clothing and luxury cars, but vulnerable girls and women are being targeted by men who create the impression of a romantic relationship before subjecting them to sexual exploitation. How big is the problem? In 2015, about seven forces reported county lines behaviour. Now, 44 forces, including British Transport Police, have recorded county lines behaviour on their turf. No one really knows how many young people across the country are being forced to take part. Children without criminal records – known as ‘clean skins’ – are preferred because they are less likely to be known to detectives. The Children’s Society says 4,000 teenagers in London alone are exploited through county lines, while the children’s commissioner estimated at least 46,000 children in England were caught up in gangs. How many children have been affected The number of individual phone numbers identified by law enforcement officials as being used on established county lines networks is about 2,000 – nearly three times the 720 previously established.



Police estimate the phone numbers are linked to about 1,000 branded networks, with a single line capable of making £800,000 profits in a year. The Children's Commissioner estimates at least 46,000 children in England are caught up in gangs.

“The problem was that these people were selling from my property but there were also local people selling. So these were turf wars and I got caught up in them,” Kevin said, shuffling in his seat.

He is still nervous to talk about it for fear of the repercussions. “I worry about people turning up to my new house too,” he said. “It’s a nightmare. When these gangs first started turning up in Lincolnshire they made a big thing about slashing people to get the fear up. They really wanted to make a proper point to all the locals.”

As the county lines problem grows, the number of people in a position like Kevin’s grows with it – as does the danger they face. Kevin, who has spent time homeless on the street because of mental health and alcohol problems, has been a victim several times. However, it was only after his life was threatened that he reported what was happening and sought help.

“I have had my house taken over and witnessed it a lot – it’s everywhere now, like a big craze going on. Especially with all the big city people,” Kevin said. “They prey on people with habits and addictions as they use it as a key to get in. In my experience I needed money and I was lonely. These people pretended to be my mates.

“But they don’t give a shit about us losing our places, they just cause trouble at your door. They are like bullies. They start off as friends but end up as bullies.”

Kevin said it was happening more often nowadays. “There are more out-of-towners from bigger cities like Nottingham and Birmingham doing it. Someone was shot in Sleaford the other day. Can you believe it – gangsters are in Sleaford?” he said with a laugh of disbelief.

Goldsmith, who is Lincolnshire operations manager of People Potential Possibilities, said that people housed by the charity were increasingly having their properties taken over. Over the last two years the charity had concerns about county lines at 21 of its 41 properties.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Police raid a property in Peterborough as part of a county lines bust. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

Teens caught up in county lines gangs have seen things no child should see Read more

“All 41 people housed within those properties have previously spent prolonged periods of time rough sleeping, have been housed direct from the street, with a large number being targeted by criminal gangs upon moving in, some within days,” he said.

Goldsmith added that six people had fled their properties immediately due to risk from others, such as threats of violence or use of weapons. The charity – with support of the local housing authorities – could provide alternative accommodation for all six.

Other charities in the area have also encountered the problem. Sandra Blow, the operations manager of the housing charity Framework, said she had first heard about cuckooing about three and a half years ago.

“It was our first experience of this happening … In the first instance it seemed to be linked to county lines activity,” she said. She added that it was frightening for everyone including staff, who have to go into houses unsure of who might be there.

“A lot of housing providers in Lincolnshire have issues with cuckooing,” she said. There had been about 10 incidents this year. “What tends to happen is people cuckoo one property and then move on … We had two properties cuckooed at the same time at one point.”

The charity is working with police and other agencies to help tackle the problem and identify those at risk, who are sometimes afraid to speak up due to fear of reprisal.

Blow said one service user had told her they were having a party when someone arrived with a knife, which they put down on the kitchen table and said: “I am going to use this house from now on.”

She said the person living there had no option but to agree. “The group of people we deal with are often mistrustful of authorities and would not report these incidents to the police. They are also fearful for their own lives.”

Goldsmith said the problem affects everyone. “It affects those who fall victim to it and are directly targeted by the criminal gangs … but also there is an impact on local communities. It often manifests itself or comes across as antisocial behaviour, people coming to and from the property at different times of night.

They prey on lonely people and drug users Kevin

“Local communities are fearful of the situation and what is happening. They see the person who is the victim as the perpetrator. They are not always seen as victim by the local community.”

He said it was hard to prevent cuckooing so the strategy was to disrupt it.

Blow said: “I don’t know what the solution is. You could say more police or funding but I have no idea. What we are doing is all working together to safeguard people and that starts in the property, but I am not sure what the answer is.”

Kevin described what was happening as “a new craze in Lincolnshire”. He said the people who take over homes can treat the occupant differently, some better than others.

“Often they are young, coming from Mummy’s place back home in the city. I’ve had respectful ones in – well, fairly respectful – but they know what they are doing. It is a massive craze. I have had ones who are quite sound and when things got heavy around the house and I said, ‘You have got to go,’ they went.”

Kevin’s response to their departure is one measure of just how difficult the problem is to solve. “I always itched to have them back as I missed the company,” he said. “They prey on lonely people and drug users. Some people are looking for them to come.”