A TEENAGE boy has collapsed at school after taking a party drug known as a “legal high”.

The pupil at Woldgate College, in Pocklington, was taken to York Hospital on Tuesday afternoon after becoming seriously ill on the school premises.

Jeff Bower, the school’s head teacher, said: “We can confirm that a sixth form pupil collapsed on site after taking a substance bought off site, as a ‘legal high’."

He said the school was working closely with the police and Safer Communities Team to make sure his pupils knew about the dangers of drugs.

A spokesman for East Riding of Yorkshire Council said the teenager had since been discharged from hospital.

The incident follows the tragedy of 14-year-old schoolgirl, Gabrielle Price, from West Sussex, who died in November from a heart attack after taking the “legal high” commonly known as meow meow.

Despite it being illegal to sell these drugs for human consumption in Britain, they can be sold legally if advertised as plant food, and are available in shops and on the internet.

After a quick search, The Press found a website selling the “legal high” mephedrone for £7 for half a gram.

The company, Research Chemicals UK, stresses the drug is “not for human consumption” and anybody purchasing the product must agree to their terms and conditions.

York MP Hugh Bayley said he would write to the Government committee looking into “legal highs” to inform them about the case at Woldgate College and urge them to make it illegal to sell the drugs.

He said: “I’m glad this young man is now out of danger, but his experience shows why it is dangerous to buy mind-bending concoctions over the internet.

“I hope his lucky escape warns other young people not to take risks."

York GP Dr Brian McGregor said “legal highs” were potentially deadly and urged teenagers to stay away from them.

He said: “You don’t know how your body is going to respond to them and they could have extremely serious effects on your heart and blood pressure – it is a very quick way to make yourself very poorly.

“It’s very usual to want to experiment with new experiences and new things when you are learning about life and going through your teenage years, but the bottom line is that drugs could kill you."

Coun Carol Runciman, head of children’s services at City of York Council, issued the same warning.

She said: “Young people should be very wary of taking anything that is not prescribed for them by a doctor and in particular anything that is not designed for humans. It can have unexpected and sometimes fatal consequences."