Social workers from Dorset and Somerset are working together to protect vulnerable north Dorset youngsters who travel to Yeovil for their entertainment.

Acting social services director Nick Jarman told a meeting in Dorchester the liaison was set up after it was realised young people from north Dorset towns and villages were travelling to the South Somerset town.

The revelation came during on a discussion about what Dorset was doing to protect young people – especially those who might be at risk of sexual exploitation, or were being used, willingly or unwillingly, by drug gangs.

The Dorset County Council safeguarding committee heard that a new strategic group has been set up by the council to keep an eye on a relatively small group of vulnerable children at risk, with extra attention being given to high risk cases, thought to number less than 40.

The county is also introducing a screening and assessment tool to assess vulnerable children in the care of the council who could be open to exploitation.

Said Mr Jarman: “There has been a significant number in the north of the county who gravitate to Yeovil. This is a cross-border issue and this work is very helpful,” he said.

He said that social services, the police and other agencies, had spent much of the summer working together to draw up plans to ensure there was better liaison and co-operation between all those involved with children at risk. The move came in response to a Government inspection report which criticised the county for not co-ordinating its responses.

Committee chairman Cllr Pauline Batstone said the efforts needed to go beyond social work teams. She said that the young people which services needed to reach were not those in the youth clubs, where they still existed, but those who hung around the streets and were not engaged in any way with support services. She said what was needed in many areas was an outreach service.

The Government report in July said the county should be acting in a more holistic way to protect vulnerable children. The report concluded: “While some work is of a reasonable quality, the poorest work is very poor.” It highlighted a number of areas which the new structures hope to tackle.