More than £800,000 has been donated to a charity to prevent young people in Kent being groomed into a life of drugs and crime.

Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott and the Home Office have promised funds to St Giles Trust in a bid to reduce the amount of children exploited by gang leaders operating at county lines.

He is investing £614,000 from his commissioning budget over the next three years while the Home Office is contributing £202,000.

Speaking at his Violence Reduction Challenge summit in Maidstone, Mr Scott said: "This is a fantastic new partnership with my office, the Home Office and St Giles Trust to try and continue the work to tackle County Lines and violent crime within our county.

"We know that we do have a footprint of gangs from London and other places, trying to exploit our young people.

"This will enable St Giles Trust and the police to bear down on these crimes."

St Giles Trust has been working in Kent to help those affected by county lines drug dealing turn their lives around since 2017.

The trust has been running a pilot scheme in east Kent so this funding would provide a more permanent solution to help prevent at risk people joining gangs.

Head of community services at the Trust Evan Jones says the guaranteed funds is "fantastic" as young people can now get reliable support for up to three years.

He added: "Young people in Kent are being exploited by the drug gangs, that originate in London and other big cities.

"We've got youngsters as young as 13 or 14 being involved in drug distribution, they are delivering drugs to drug users and running enormous risks as chances of violence are huge.

"They are really worried about being attacked by a rival gang or a drug user. They can also end up in substantial debt and sometimes this carries over to their families."

Mr Jones added while County Lines gangs operate all over the country, the Trust believes Thanet has had these issues longer than anywhere else outside of London.

He said: "Thanet is a classic deprived seaside area where we've got a lot of children's homes and vulnerable young people with complex issues being moved out of London.

"All of whom are potential prey to the gangs that want to exploit them

"You also have a large population of people who want to use drugs.

"If there's a market, someone will try and feed that market."

Former gang member Francis Osei-Appiah, who set up an early prevention outreach project in West Kent, also welcomes this new incentive.

The Tonbridge resident, who was sent to prison for being a runner for a gang in Tottenham 18 years ago, says early prevention is key.

Founder of Reform Restore Respect, Mr Osei-Appiah, said: "The landscape of gangs has shifted where you see kids as young as 10 and 11, it's scary.

"They are being groomed, they are being used and they are vulnerable.

"They don't know what they are getting themselves into and by the time we know, it's too late.

"This is why I do the work I do to reach out to them to just give them awareness and education.

"I can't save every kid I meet, it's down to what they do with the information I share with them."

Mr Osei-Appiah goes to both primary and secondary schools to share his childhood experiences to discourage young people from following in his footsteps.

This funding is part of the crime commissioner's Violence Reduction Challenge, which was launched last year to identify a Kent-specific response to the Government’s national Serious Violence Strategy.

It has brought the police, other emergency services, local authorities and victims’ charities together to discuss rises in violent crime data.

A report into how some of the underlying causes can be tackled will be published in the spring.