A CONFERENCE focused on child exploitation and county lines awareness has been organised in memory of a 13-year-old boy who died after taking MDMA.

Charity Escapeline has organised the full day programme at Bournemouth University, which is aimed for professionals across Dorset who work with children of any age.

The event on December 7 will be in memory of Mehmet Altun, who died last year after he had fallen ill and become unresponsive at his home in Bournemouth.

Following an inquest into his death took place in August, Mehmet's his family said more needed to be done to protect children from being exploited by criminal gangs.

Discussing the conference, Mehmet’s sister Yaz, who works at Escapeline, said: “Our goal is to train professionals and raise awareness on child exploitation, which entails criminal, sexual and financial exploitation.

“As a charity, one of our main focuses within child exploitation is the ongoing county lines problem. We believe that there is a lack of knowledge and understanding in the south west regarding this.”

The conference is suitable for police officers, social workers, teachers, youth workers, nurses, GPs, support workers, headteachers.

Escapeline is recommending professionals attend to help raise awareness and identify vulnerable young people to get them the correct support that they need.

The event in the Fusion Building on the university’s Talbot Campus will be opened by Dorset and Police Crime Commissioner David Sidwick.

There will also be a talk from Sammy Woodhouse, an activist for child sexual exploitation and abuse, who was a victim in the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal.

A representative from Dorset Police, specialising in county lines, will be sharing the work that the police are doing in Dorset to tackle organised drug crimes, while the Escapeline team will provide training on the key issues.

Yaz said: “The conference intends to focus on the balance between factual information by experts in the field, alongside real-life stories and experiences of those that have been exposed to child exploitation into county lines.

“Guests will be hearing from a range of professional and expert-by-experience speakers.”

All ticket costs go into the education and workshops of young people and parents. For more details and to buy a ticket, visit eventbrite.co.uk/e/preventing-child-exploitation-and-county-lines-dorset-2022-tickets-445170024527