WARNINGS have been issued against the use of ‘legal highs’ after three Hereford children were hospitalised in a month.

Ambulance crews last week took an 11-year-old boy to Hereford County Hospital, after he had consumed what was believed to have been an unidentified ‘legal high’ substance.

The call out to the park off Penhaligon Way in Moorfields at 6pm last Wednesday came after a 12-yearold boy and a 15-year-old boy were taken to the same hospital back in September, suffering from the effects of a substance known as ‘Bud Factory’ or ‘Shottie Haze’.

Described as psychoactive substances which mimic the effects of controlled drugs – although their chemical structures have been changed – legal highs can cause seizures, comas, and, in some cases, death.

The new substances are not yet controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Now, authorities are working together to tackle – what has been described as – a growing trend in Hereford.

Nick Semper, Safer Neighbourhood Team Inspector for Hereford City, said: “Hereford Police and Trading Standards are working closely to address this issue, which is clearly posing a very serious risk to the health of our city’s children.

"I can think of no responsible body or responsible parent who would condone the sale or supply of legal highs to anyone.”

West Midlands Ambulance Service said it has seen a rise in the number of patients dialling 999 for conditions such as heart attacks and seizures, which came as a direct result of having taken a ‘legal high’.

“People who take these substances have absolutely no way of knowing what is in them,” an ambulance statement read.