CHILDREN as young as 11 are believed to be taking a potentially fatal stimulant after an ‘explosion’ in its use in South Cumbria, police claim.

Hundreds of young people in South Lakeland and Furness are using mephedrone, according to charity South Lakeland Drugs Alcohol and Sexual Health (DASH).

The charity also understands that about eight people a week are being admitted to accident and emergency at Furness General Hospital after taking the drug, and special advice centres are being set up.

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These figures could not be confirmed by the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust or NHS Cumbria Police, local drugs charities and health service partners have been called in to give talks at local schools and emergency walk-in centres offering support and advice are being set up, with one in the process of being established in Kendal.

Paul Brown, director of Cumbria Alcohol and Drug Advisory Service (CADAS) said: “The problem is everywhere. There has been an explosion recently and it has become very popular, very quickly. I would say there are hundreds of young people using it in South Lakeland and Furness. Its use is rife.

“We think it has increased in popularity in our area because of the amount of publicity and the fact that it is legal.”

The drug produces feelings of euphoria, alertness, talkativeness and feelings of empathy, and can cause anxiety, paranoia and a risk of over stimulating the heart and nervous system leading to fits.

Side effects include excessive sweating, headaches, heart palpitations, nausea, and cold or blue fingers.

Home secretary Alan Johnson announced this week the drug, sold as a white powder or in capsule or pill form, will be banned within weeks and he hopes to make it class B, with dealers facing up to 14 years in prison. It follows the death of four people nationally.

CADAS has set up an emergency mephedrone walk-in centre in Barrow to cope with the sudden increase in cases and concerned parents of young people from South Lakeland have been visiting. Workshops start on Friday April 16.

“We have had lots of parents calling in to see us about this,” Mr Brown added. “Their children used to go out drinking and be back by one or two in the morning, but now aren’t coming back till six or seven because they’re taking the drug.

“Banning it is going to make it more expensive. But then the drug dealers will end up with the money.”

DASH has reported a significant rise in the number of worried parents, youth group representatives and children themselves approaching the organisation for help.

A DASH spokeswoman said: “Young people have been concerned that they are getting more and more hooked on the drug as it gives them such a buzz but now they’re worried after what they’ve heard in the media.”

Allister Clark (correct), risk and resilience community worker, added: “I have come into contact with many young people who are using it. There are quite a lot using it in Ulverston and the surrounding area.”

Users buy the drug online, and it can be bought at certain stores in the county, including Living World Pet Store and the adult shop Simply Pleasure, both in Barrow.

Prospective Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock has written to both stores to ask them to stop selling the drugs. The pet shop was unavailable at the time of going to press and Simply Pleasure refused to comment.

Cumbria Police has no record of how many children have taken what is currently a legal drug, but reported an increase in the number of children found with the white powder.

PC Mike Brown said: “The problem is no one knows what’s in the drug and the problems it can cause. The emergency services need to educate people about this problem.”

The Ryan Smith Rising Sun Trust, based in Cumbria, has visited several South Lakeland schools in recent weeks, including Kirkbie Kendal and Queen Katherine, at Kendal, John Ruskin, at Coniston, and Ulverston Victoria High School, to talk about the dangers of the ‘legal high’.

Trust founder David Smith, whose son Ryan died aged 18 from a drugs overdose, said: ”I advise parents and teachers to talk to the children. Don’t avoid the subject. The worst thing that may happen is an argument. I’d argue with my son for the rest of my life if I could.

“Taking methedrone is as dangerous as playing Russian roulette as no-one knows the consequences because there is no research.”

Prof John Ashton, NHS Cumbria’s director of public health, said: “Mephedrone, whether legal or not, is a relatively new substance to be used as a drug. This means that we know very little about it and not much research has been done in to the effects it could have in the long term on a person either physiologically or physically. This is where the danger lies.”