Unless more is done we could face a ‘pandemic of child exploitation’ by criminal gangs in Swindon, a charitable organisation has said.

Craig Hiscock, operations manager at Best – Be A Better You has warned an apparent rise in violent crime by young people has been brewing for a long time and is caused by many factors.

It follows several violent incidents perpetrated by some of the town's youth, some as young as 14-years-old.

The deaths of Lee Turner, 33, and Owen Dunn, 18 have involved teenagers in some form.

The former saw a 17-year-old arrested and charged but later acquitted after two trials and the latter has seen three boys, aged 14,15 and 17, charged and set to face trial later this year. 

More recently, a 17-year-old and 20-year-old were arrested for a shooting that left a man in his 40s with a potentially life-changing injury.

And two 17-year-olds have been charged with a knife attack on a man in his 20s at Cavendish Square.

BEST - Be A Better You works with children to provide sports training and one-to-one mentoring in a bid to keep them out of trouble.

"The problem is a lot deeper than just young people committing crime," Craig said.

"What we're seeing now is the result of something that has been going on for a very long time and it's only going to get worse.

“The 17 and 18-year-olds who are committing crimes have been growing up for years around this criminal behaviour, and are victims themselves.

"Gangs embed themselves in communities and win over the trust of vulnerable young people by buying them expensive gifts and paying them well to do jobs.

"They act like they have the best interests of the child in mind, but in reality, are using them.”

Craig has warned that we could be heading into what he calls “a pandemic of exploitation” as the economic situation in the country worsens during the current cost of living crisis.

“There are so many vulnerable families living on the breadline, and there’s a lack of support for them, so there will be hundreds of children susceptible to being groomed into criminal gangs.

“We’ve seen a long period of austerity measures and while you can’t blame it all on that, they’ve cut youth services, they’ve stripped it all back, so what is there for young people to do? Where can they go that’s safe and off the streets?

“When you speak to them they tell you they feel like they’ve been forgotten about that they’ve been abandoned, so they find communities where they are respected, valued and rewarded.”

Other issues include cuts in policing levels, cuts in social work, lack of career prospects and support, and lenient sentencing leaving young people with relatively no fear of getting caught.

Craig adds the ease with which they can acquire zombie knives and machetes, and an ineffective prison system that abandons young people rather than helps to reform them as well as the impact of Covid are all factors in the increase in vulnerability for the town's younger generations.

He added it can also be a very appealing lifestyle for young children, particularly from working-class backgrounds, with one 14-year-old he'd talked to saying he earned £900 a week working for a gang.

“It almost seems impossible to overcome all of that,” he said.

“But early intervention is key. We must be better and more organised than the gangs, and we must reach these children first.”

This Easter BEST – Be A Better You has been working with Swindon Borough Council and several parish councils to deliver workshops and classes to hundreds of children, in an attempt to give them an outlet, a safe space, and educate them about the potential dangers of criminal grooming.

Craig added: “It’s going to take years to combat this growing problem, and it needs a joined-up approach from everyone in the community, from parents themselves to groups like us, to the police and local authorities. It can be done!”