Drugs probe as teenager dies and three become ill at Ballingry house

The emergency services were called to Kirkland Avenue at about 11:55 on Sunday

A 16-year-old boy has died and three others needed hospital treatment after a group of young people became unwell at a house in Fife.

The emergency services were called to Kirkland Avenue, Ballingry at about 11:55 on Sunday when a "small number of youths" were taken ill.

The teenager's death was confirmed in hospital in Kirkcaldy.

It is understood that police are considering drugs as one line of inquiry into the death.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We were made aware around 11:55 on Sunday, 29 October of a 16-year-old male youth having taken unwell at a property on Kirkland Avenue in Ballingry.

"He was taken to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy for treatment but was pronounced dead a short time later.

"His death is being treated as unexplained and inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances."

Councillor Mary Lockhart said the incident had cast a pall over the local community

Local councillor Mary Lockhart said the community has been left devastated.

"People are shocked, they're horrified. The age of the young people involved is an additional shock to them," she said.

"Fundamentally, there has been a lot of difficulty in the community, there has been a lot of hard times and this is a tragedy which just casts a pall over the whole community."

The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed they had attended the house in Ballingry on Sunday.

A spokesperson said: "We dispatched several resources to the scene and transported four patients to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy."