Talbot Green ecstasy girl: Police warning after child hospitalised

Police said the boy who supplied the ecstasy is thought to be about 16

A girl is "lucky to be alive" after taking a quarter of an ecstasy tablet and ending up in hospital.

South Wales Police said the girl, in her early teens and from Talbot Green, had made a full recovery after being taken to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital.

Officers warned people not to "play roulette with their own life" as increasingly potent ecstasy tablets circulate.

Police said the boy who supplied the drug is thought to be about 16.

'Split second decision'

Officers are urging parents to speak to their children about the dangers of drugs. They are also working with schools in the area to raise awareness and warn pupils.

South Wales Police said in a statement that the girl was understood to have taken a quarter of a tablet, and that doctors believed she was "lucky to be alive".

Insp Stephen Daley said: "The decision to take an ecstasy tablet can be made in a split second and it could be the last choice that somebody will make.

"People are literally playing roulette with their own life."

He also said it was "saddening and deeply concerning that tablets are being exchanged between children".

Police are trying to identify who supplied the tablet, who they believe to be a boy, aged about 16, 5ft 10 tall, with mousy brown hair and a fringe.

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What is ecstasy?

• Ecstasy a Class A drug. It is a "psychedelic" stimulant drug usually sold as tablets

• It is also known as MDMA or "crystal"

• Use of ecstasy has been linked to liver, kidney and heart problems

• It has also been linked to memory problems, depression and anxiety

• It can cause confusion, paranoia and even psychosis

• Ecstasy use affects the body's temperature control and can lead to dangerous overheating and dehydration - but drinking too much fluid can also be very dangerous for the brain