SIX young people were rushed to hospital amid fears that they had fallen ill after taking 'a controlled drug'.

At around 3.10am on Sunday, October 11, officers were called to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary by staff after the admission of six people from The Sugarhouse Nightclub, on Sugarhouse Alley, Lancaster.

Four women, students at Lancaster University, and two men who were visiting for the weekend were initially believed to have had adverse reactions to drugs.

Police now say that they think two of the women fell ill after taking 'a powdered substance', the other two were ill due to excessive alcohol consumption and the two men took black 'shield shape' tablets.

The tablets that the men are thought to have taken are described as a black shield shape with a crest or logo on the front of them.

Three have been discharged from hospital but one remains under observation.

James Edmonds from Lancaster CID said: “I would urge anyone to refrain from taking these tablets or indeed any sort of drug because the message is clear – you don’t know what you’re taking and the risk you are putting on your health could be devastating.

“Fortunately it appears that none of the individuals involved were seriously affected by this incident and I want to reassure the public that we are trying to identify the source of the tablets.

“This appears to be an isolated incident and we will continue to work with the university and our partners to educate young people to ensure this does not happen again.” Police are urging anybody in possession of similar tablets to hand them into us to prevent anyone else from falling ill and to enable us to test the substance.

MORE TOP STORIES: Anyone with information about the supply of this drug or other illegal drugs should call Lancashire Police on 101 quoting log number 237 of October 11, or pass information anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

For drugs information and advice visit the Talk To Frank website: www.talktofrank.com or call the National Drugs Helpline on 0800 77 66 00.