KETAMINE CRISIS IN OUR SCHOOLS

POLICE investigations into seizures of the drug ketamine in schools has risen five-fold in a year.

- TOM PETTIFOR

Children as young as 13 were caught with the deadly drug while others were found selling it to fellow pupils.

Police were called to just three schools in 2022/23 over ketamine, a figure that rose to 15 the following academic year, a Freedom of Information request reveals.

The true number of cases is thought to be far higher, with teachers choosing not to involve the police so as not to criminalise their pupils.

But what is striking about the new data is how cases are spread around the country, with four rural, smaller forces reporting the same number of cases as the Metropolitan Police.

Wendy Teasdill, whose 18-year-old daughter Ellie Rowe died after taking ketamine at a music festival in 2013, said: "It is in the villages now and places you wouldn't expect, it's in the parks and in the playgrounds.

"It's a vast issue and we need more awareness. It's especially found in poorer areas because it's so cheap and children can take it without leaving a trace because it doesn't smell like smoking drugs.

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"Now you can get it on Snapchat and Telegram, they can get a hit for a couple of quid. To parents I would say if you think your kid would never do it, think again because I never thought my daughter would take it.