Ten pupils fall ill ‘after taking pills in lunch break’

TEN pupils at a Scots school were treated by medics yesterday amid fears they took drugs during their lunch break.

Four were so unwell they needed hospital treatment.

The Scottish Ambulance Service was called to Dunfermline High School in Fife around 1pm after the S2 and S3 pupils fell ill.

School officials later confirmed ‘some pupils may have taken tablets’ outside school grounds at lunchtime.

The pills are believed to have been the anti-anxiety drug Valium.

The school issued an email to parents in the wake of the incident, which confirmed the youngsters involved were aged between 12 and 14.

It read: ‘We were made aware some of our pupils may have taken tablets outwith school grounds during lunchtime.

‘We called emergency services immediately and have worked with them to support pupils who may have been affected.

‘Our first priority has been to check the identified names and contact their parents/carers. We would urge you to speak to your child to ensure they have not taken any tablets from anybody and to take medical advice if you think they have.’

Five ambulance crews, a special operations unit and a rapid response vehicle attended.

Six youngsters were treated at the scene and four were taken to Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, as a precaution. They were said to be in a ‘stable’ condition. Police said they were following a positive line of inquiry into how the pupils were in possession of the tablets.

Dunfermline Tory councillor Alan Craig said: ‘It is unbelievable that this sort of stuff is happening at a school and nothing is getting done about it.

‘Somebody must be seeing somebody selling it or handing it out.

‘I’m shocked and bewildered. You see these things on TV, but to be happening at a school in my ward is shocking.’

Valium – often referred to by its generic name diazepam – typically produces a calming effect and is used to treat anxiety, alcohol withdrawal and seizures.

However, its side-effects can include drowsiness, dizziness and tiredness.

It is not yet known where the pupils obtained the tablets, but shocked local residents voiced their concerns on social media.

One wrote: ‘What’s happening at Dunfermline High School today is messed up, makes me nervous to think my little sister will be there in August.’

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: ‘We received a call at 13.23 to attend an incident at Dunfermline High School.

‘We treated six patients at the scene and transported four to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.’

Phil Black, head of education and children’s services at Fife Council, confirmed that an incident happened at the school.

He said: ‘We called emergency services immediately and have worked with them to identify and support pupils who may have been affected.

‘We have spoken to children this afternoon with police and paramedics to make sure anyone who has taken tablets has been identified and treated.’

A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘Police were called to a high school in Dunfermline around 1.30pm on Friday following a report of concern for the health of a number of pupils who had consumed a tablet.

‘Inquiries are ongoing and officers are currently following a positive line of inquiry in connection with this.’