Teens travelled to Shrewsbury from Walsall to sell drugs, court told

The pair admitted possession of crack cocaine and possession of diamorphine in Frankwell car park on October 2, last year.

Then aged just 16, one of the youths, was also found in possession of a machete, in Smithfield Road in the town. He admitted possession of a bladed article.

They were arrested by officers who were on the look out for street dealers operating across County Lines in Shropshire.

The court heard the youths now, aged 17 and 18, travelled from their Walsall homes to peddle drugs.

About £500 in cash was also seized when they were arrested.

In his interview the younger teenager described as being of "high risk of reoffending" in the future told officers he came to Shrewsbury to deal drugs to get money.

Sentencing them at Shrewsbury Crown Court Judge Anthony Lowe told them if they were adults under the guidelines the starting point would have been a combined five-year term. "It gives me no pleasure to see two young men who have not yet reached their 19th birthday spending time in custody.

Insidious

"All I ask of you is that you reflect on your situation. From reading your reports I can see you both have skills. Do not let this sentence reflect define your future," he said.

"The reality is that the County Lines industry now is very much centred on taking people of young age and exploiting them which must be of some concern to the court, about how it can be stopped. This is a similar issue to the couriers who tend to be vulnerable.

"The supply of class A drugs is a hideous crime. These offences have a insidious effect on families and feeds into other crimes," the judge said.

He added that he had taken their young ages into consideration and the roles they played before arriving at the sentences.

But he said that despite their age he was not satisfied their actions were entirely driven by the exploitation of others, although he accepted there were others higher in the chain.

He ordered the forfeiture of the seized cash for police anti-drugs campaigns and ordered that the machete be destroyed.

The 18-year-old was sent sentenced at a total of 21 months in a young offenders' institution while the 17-year-old was given a youth detention order for 18 months.

The youths who cannot be identified for legal reasons, must serve half the terms before being released subject to conditions.

They must also pay the victims' surcharge.