Shockwaveover drug collapse of sixth former

A concerned headteacher has urged the Government to ban a potentially lethal new drug which caused one of his pupils to collapse in school.

Jeff Bower, head of Woldgate College, Pocklington, said the drug-induced collapse, which saw the sixth former rushed to hospital, had sent a shockwave through the secondary.

The 17-year-old, who has not been named, has since been released from hospital but he is suspended indefinitely along with a fellow pupil, who also took the drug mephedrone, pending an investigation.

Mr Bower understands the students bought the drug from someone in the town in their lunch hour.

The drug, also known as “M-Cat”, can be sold legally provided it is sold as a plant fertiliser and not for human consumption.

Mr Bower said: “If anyone is in the firing line in terms of the law it will be the supplier.

“The person who might buy it or use it has absolutely nothing to fear from the law at all and that’s not right.

“I would not hesitate. They should just make it illegal.”

Mr Bower described the feeling of shock when the student, whom he described as an intelligent pupil, collapsed at school.

“He was really quite ill and it was obvious fairly quickly that it was beyond our capabilities so an ambulance was called. It was frightening.”

Mr Bower has since spoken to the student.

He said: “I got him back into school with his mother. He was genuinely frightened and felt a bit of a fool.

“He had scared himself. He knew nothing about this substance whatsoever beforehand.

“I think it was a bit of peer pressure and he thought he would have a go. He didn’t know what to do with the damn stuff when he got it.

“He was naive and they are the ones often where it goes pear-shaped, they don’t know what they are doing.

“He’s abject and his parents are abject. It’s been a wake-up call.”

Mr Bower said special assemblies are being held to raise awareness about the dangers of the drug, which has been linked to at least two fatalities.