‘I was sleeping rough, I would never do it again’

The 18-year-old says she used to run away a lot when she was younger and once went to Blackpool with a stranger.

She said: “I would run away with anyone. It started when I was 12 but I went into care when I was 10. I wasn’t scared, you have no fear. I was really stupid.

“I did it because nobody had control of what I was doing. I felt like I was doing whatever I wanted. But really it’s the only thing that you can control, that’s why you do it.

“I was sleeping rough. I would never do it again.”

“I got through a lot of foster families. I thought, if they are only going to give me away then why not run away?”

Sarah says she stopped running away and calmed down when she fell pregnant at 16.

She is now learning to drive through the Peacock Project and says she cannot wait to get a job. The teenager says she would like to gain any employment when the project finishes and is considering going into youth work.

She said: “I would definitely tell people to be part of the project. It gets you out rather than just staying in the house and stops you feeling depressed.

“You do things you wouldn’t get the chance to do normally. We went to Go Ape at Delamere Forest where you jump out of high trees. It was great but I would never do it again!”

Sarah is going to Parliament at the end of the month with members of her group. She wants to tell MPs that more apprenticeships should be available to those leaving care.