Dealers from London are targeting younger and younger teenagers at The Level in Brighton.

Police arrested eight young people for drugs offences last weekend alone.

The teenagers are stashing weapons in the park in case they are attacked, witnesses say.

Now the council is urging parents who are worried about their children to come forward.

Unexplained cash, new trainers and excessive text messaging are all signs a child could be involved in dealing drugs, the council has warned.

It comes as recorded crime at The Level has doubled in the past year alone.

Reports of violent and sexual offences have quadrupled since 2017.

Just last month an 18-year-old was stabbed in the neck when a fight broke out between three teenagers at the park.

One skateboarder who has been visiting The Level for years said crime in the area had risen dramatically in recent months.

The skater, who asked not to be named, said: “I’ve seen a lot more people who don’t skate but are down there to sell drugs. I know that they hide the knives in the flowerbeds around the skate park so they can grab them in a fight.”

The gangs, usually from London, use children and vulnerable people as runners to move drugs and cash across towns and cities, in a system known to police as “county lines”.

Brighton and Hove city councillor Emma Daniel said: “These gangs are starting to target younger and younger kids and using children to recruit other children.”

Cllr Daniel, who has been working on the violence, vulnerability and exploitation strategy for more than a year, said: “I urge parents worried about their child to come forward, we understand exploitation and we will seek to do everything we can to keep your child safe.

“Being part of a gang can affect someone’s relationship with family and friends and the gang seek to isolate that person from their groups.”

Chief Inspector Rachel Swinney said: “We have made a number of arrests this year including eight [last] weekend which were connected to drug dealing.

“All were young people. We continue to target county lines drug dealers who exploit our most vulnerable people. I want to make it very clear to those criminals that they are not welcome in our city and we will do all we can to relentlessly pursue them.”

Drugs and violence are ruining the park for others

A SKATEBOARDER who uses The Level regularly said youngsters hide knives in the flowerbeds in case of arguments.

He said: “I’ve never seen so many people selling drugs in one spot in my whole life.

“I’ve been skating here for years, long before it was done up, and it’s always been pretty bad with people drinking and taking drugs.

“But until now it’s always been the skaters.

“Since The Level has been done up, people come down here and sit on the grass and sell drugs. “

The skater, who did not want to be named, said the groups know where the security cameras are in the

park and send one member to be a lookout.

He added: “I’ve seen loads of people who look about 15 getting drunk,

fighting and selling drugs for the older ones.

“I always see a group of people ranging from older guys, younger kids and teenage girls and they hang about

and drink all day.

“I don’t know about the details but I know that group are heavily involved somehow in what is going on.”

Last month a teenager was arrested and charged after a stabbing in the park.

The skateboarder said: “I spoke to friends about it and it sounds brutal but this is just becoming a standard thing down here at the moment.

“People think that is an OK thing to do if you don’t like them.

“This is bringing negative attention and I’m worried this is going to risk us losing the skate park.

“It is ruining the skate park for people who want to skate.”

Police figures show that between May and July this year, crime

reports relating to The Level have almost doubled to 92, compared

with 47 in the same period the previous year.

Eight of those instances were violent crime reports.

Last week the park was cordoned off after a vicious late-night attack.

The victim, a local man in his thirties, needed hospital treatment for head and facial injuries.

Chief Inspector Rachel Swinney said: “The Level is an area

where we continue to focus our

efforts and resources to tackle criminality.

“The information we receive from our local community is absolutely vital in helping us to build a

picture about what is going on in that area.

“We want to hear from anyone if they are concerned about they see and hear.

“Over the summer months there has been increased patrols on a daily basis and this will continue.

“Just this week, I have met with local partners and we are all committed to tackling drug dealing and preventing vulnerable young people from being criminally exploited.”

What is county lines?

“COUNTY lines” is criminal exploitation of children by drug gangs.

The gangs, usually from London, use children and other vulnerable people in areas such as Brighton, threatening, grooming or tricking them into trafficking their drugs for them.

The children use dedicated mobile phones – or “lines” – to sell the drugs.

Sussex Police and Brighton and Hove City Council say it has become an increasingly serious problem.

Gangs in the capital are sending children to towns across Sussex as drug runners, responding to a phone number-based ordering system for drugs.

Tamarapreye Soroh, 22, and Kieren Sakhabuth, 21, were jailed in July after a police investigation.

They used 16 and 17-year-old youngsters as “runners” who were sent from Lewisham to Brighton to sell drugs.

Investigators say a typical line will generate £2,000 to £3,000 per day.