TWO teenagers were taken to hospital after experimenting with a newly outlawed drug which left one of them on the brink of death.

Police are now warning parents and young people throughout North Yorkshire of the threat of MDPV, which was recently reclassified as a Class B drug alongside a host of other substances, including mephedrone, the “legal high” which The Press successfully campaigned to have banned from the streets.

Armed police were called to a house in Tadcaster last Saturday night, after a 14-year-old who had taken MDPV flew into a rage at his home and began making threats while brandishing a knife.

A stand-off lasted until 1.40am on Sunday, when the boy was arrested for a breach of the peace and taken to York Hospital for treatment.

Later that day a 16-year-old girl, also from Tadcaster, was taken to York Hospital after becoming critically ill having taken the drug the night before, and was placed on a life-support machine. North Yorkshire Police said she was now stable and recovering well.

A 17-year-old local male has been arrested in connection with the supply of the drug to both teenagers, and released on bail pending further inquiries.

MDVP, which is the common name for methylenedioxypyrovalerone, became a class B drug earlier this month through new laws brought in due to the public fear over the effects of mephedrone.

It is described as being like amphetamine and ecstasy, with a white, flour-like texture and a distinctive sweet smell, and is usually snorted or swallowed, but can also be injected.

Even small doses have high potency levels.

Chief Inspector Richard Anderson, the Safer Neighbourhood Commander for the Selby District, said: “These worrying incidents highlight the extreme dangers associated with former so-called legal highs, such as MDPV and mephedrone.

“They are clearly very harmful and could easily have proved fatal on this occasion. I strongly urge people to resist the temptations to experiment with these substances.”

Tony Towers, who is manager for the drug intervention programme Compass in the York area, said anyone who had taken the substance and was showing signs of distressed or erratic behaviour should seek medical attention as a matter of urgency.

“It could mean the difference between life and death,” he said.

Anyone with any information about the drug or its supply should phone North Yorkshire Police on 0845 60 60 247.