Children as young as 10 caught drug dealing on the streets

Children as young as ten are being caught selling drugs, with nine-year-olds found in possession, shocking new police figures reveal.

The number of under-16s caught supplying illegal drugs has soared by almost 40 per cent in just two years, with more than 6,000 arrested across Britain last year, while 53,000 were caught in possession.

The youngest dealers included four 10-year-olds caught in Lancashire, Worcestershire, Kent and Strathclyde, while three nine-year-olds were caught by police in Worcestershire in possession of cannabis.

The startling figures come amid growing concerns over drug use among young people in the wake of the Government's highly controversial decision to downgrade the law on cannabis three years ago.

Ministers have been blamed for sending confusing and mixed messages to young people on drug abuse by opting to reclassify cannabis from class B to class C.

This means that most cases of personal possession are now dealt with through an informal warning, with the person involved receiving no police record.

The move has led many youngsters to believe, wrongly, that the drug is no longer illegal.

Earlier this week a scathing report from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs warned that youngsters found 'little difficulty' in obtaining illegal drugs.

Harry Shapiro, of the charity Drugscope, said: "Many dealers have found themselves a willing and able young workforce.

"To a large extent these kids will be gophers and runners and it's difficult for the police to be able to do anything about it."