Indeed, it could be said that city gangs coercing children and vulnerable people to transport, store and sell drugs in smaller towns such as Harrogate - using dedicated phone lines - is one of the most callous and despicable types of criminality that there is.

The Government announcement that hundreds of millions of pounds will be invested in tackling county lines drugs gangs, therefore, should be welcomed.

It is an issue this newspaper has reported on extensively, revealing in February last year that 148 known drugs lines were operating the region, while 339 vulnerable adults and children in West Yorkshire alone were at risk of criminal exploitation.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson talks to British Transport Police officers at Liverpool Lime Street as part of 'Operation Toxic' to infiltrate County Lines drug dealings on December 6. Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.

At the time, a father from West Yorkshire told how a gang targeted his 17-year-old son to sell crack cocaine and heroin, enticing him and a friend by offering them free cannabis and buying them takeaways and alcohol. As his son was on remand after being arrested, the father said the situation had “got out of hand and of course my son started owing them money and then the threats came. They would threaten to harm him and then threaten to beat me and his family up and of course, they knew where we lived.”

Thankfully it seems some progress is being made, as police said in September this year they have “completely obliterated” six county lines which were being used to bring drugs into North Yorkshire.

However police have also said in the past that this is not an issue they can solve on their own.

This work is complex but must be handled compassionately, and the funding surely provides some hope.

County lines funding to tackle drugs gangs a welcome step - The Yorkshire Post says