County Lines explained as gritty drama Out There focuses on dark drugs trade

Martin Clunes' caller play sees him look disconnected against cause dealers successful Wales

The acheronian and unsafe satellite of County Lines is explored successful caller ITV play Out There.

Martin Clunes plays Welsh husbandman Nathan Williams who becomes acrophobic astir the aboriginal of his workplace and others successful the country owed to improvement agents. 

But helium besides grows acrophobic astir his teenage lad Johnny (Louis Ashbourne Serkis) reconnecting with an aged person and present section cause trader Rhys (Gerran Howell), who ropes him into his cause operation. 

Nathan finds himself trying to shield his workplace and assemblage from the menace of County Lines cause operations. Out There volition premiere astatine 9pm connected Sunday, January 19 connected ITV1, with the implicit container acceptable disposable for streaming connected ITVX connected the aforesaid date.

The bid focuses connected County Lines, a reasonably caller caller strategy of supplying and dealing drugs crossed the UK and focuses much connected agrarian communities. 

Producers and the formed of Out There researched County Lines, with retired Sussex Police Detective Inspector Bill Warner advising ITV researchers connected the drama. 

But what is County Lines and however does this signifier of transgression impact communities? 

What is County Lines?

As referenced successful a Home Office Serious Crime Strategy report, the National Police Chiefs' Council states County Line is simply a word utilized to picture gangs and organised transgression networks progressive successful exporting amerciable drugs into 1 oregon much importing areas wrong the UK utilizing dedicated mobile telephone lines oregon different signifier of “deal line”.

These lines are apt to exploit children and susceptible adults to determination and store the drugs and wealth and they volition often usage coercion, intimidation, unit (including intersexual violence) and weapons.

Drug dealers often people children, susceptible adults and addicts to enactment arsenic cause runners oregon determination cash.

Some cases of County Lines spot the dealers taking implicit a section property, usually belonging to a susceptible person, and utilizing it to run their transgression activity. This is known arsenic cuckooing.

Signs of County Lines includes caller visitors to a property, alteration successful the resident's mood, signs of cause paraphernalia, unexplained and often costly caller items, young radical successful antithetic cars, radical unaware of the assemblage and an summation successful anti-social behaviour successful the community.

Speaking astir the series' absorption connected County Lines, Martin Clunes said: "We researched the full region lines occupation with Marc and Ed. While this is simply a enactment of fiction, the mode that concern exemplary works is represented accurately due to the fact that the probe was truthful thorough."

When asked astir the probe and information of County Lines, the histrion added: "I was shocked by definite things - shocked by the stabbing. There is simply a communicative of stabbing each time successful the news, and that callous attack to life, the mode these kids are utilized arsenic a disposable enactment force.

"You tin spot the fertile system, and the mode they tin emergence up the ranks, It’s a precise good thought out, nasty business."

People who fishy County Lines is occurring successful their country tin talk to their section constabulary unit by dialling 101, oregon successful an exigency 999.

If you would alternatively stay anonymous, you tin interaction the autarkic foundation Crimestoppers connected 0800 555 111.