Mother says care placement left exploited son at risk in Grimsby

The mother told the BBC that a gang groomed her son when he was 13 and forced him to deliver drugs in Grimsby. She said he had obtained the “job” as easily as a “paper round”.

She said she repeatedly asked North East Lincolnshire Council for help. After her son was taken into care, she said, he was housed in Grimsby, “right in the centre of the exploitation”. She said it took two years for the council to move him to safety.

The council told the BBC it did not comment on individual cases but took child criminal exploitation extremely seriously. It said protecting children was a priority and described its approach as proactive and preventative.

Council data obtained by the BBC identified 153 children as potentially at risk of criminal exploitation in North East Lincolnshire in 2025/26, a rise of 56% over five years. Of those, 108 were aged 13 to 17.

The figures count children identified as potentially at risk, not confirmed victims, and do not on their own show how the true scale of exploitation has changed. The council attributed the increase in identified children to better information sharing and earlier intervention. The local safeguarding partnership has also said training and awareness have helped improve identification.

In 2025, Ofsted rated the council’s children’s services good overall, after judging them inadequate in 2021. Inspectors said the response to children at risk of exploitation had improved.