A mum who refused to send her son to school for fear he was being "groomed to join a county lines" outfit has ended up in court.

The woman, 34, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told Newcastle magistrates that the boy was attending a non-mainstream school in the county.

She said from the second day at the school he had "fallen into a group".

The mum told the North Staffordshire Justice Centre: "I gave (the headteacher) a few pupils' names and he assured me these children did not attend (the school). We were not happy about him attending an alternative school as he has no learning disabilities or additional needs."

The mum added: "The next thing we knew we had county lines worries. He was going missing. He was always with this group of older children."

The woman told Magistrates that she kept her son off school because she was concerned that he was being groomed (Google).

She admitted being the parent of a child who failed to attend school regularly between June 1 2022 and September 30 2022.

But she said the teenager had a 98% attendance rate at his previous school.

The court heard education welfare officers had organised a meeting to discuss what support could be put in place to support the teenager's return to the new school, such as a reduced timetable or work experience, the court heard.

But there was no improvement in his attendance.

The mum added: "We didn't know at that time he was being groomed for county lines. That's why he did not attend school.

"Yes he's staying at home. I'm safeguarding my son from that lifestyle.

"He wants to go out and get a job and work. We work hard and he wants to go out and work.

"We can't get him to engage with a counsellor or doctor. We did have a social worker but there was not one thing they could do to help him and there are clear boundaries in place for our children."

Magistrates fined the mother £40. She was also ordered to pay a £35 surcharge.

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