Pupils’ capsule scare

FIVE pupils became unwell after taking an unknown substance at a school residence.

Police are investigating after the youngsters fell ill at Papdale Halls of Residence in Kirkwall, Orkney, on Wednesday.

Two of the pupils were taken to hospital but were discharged on Thursday evening.

Orkney Islands Council is urging parents and carers to ask their children if they have an unknown substance in their possession, in particular a clear capsule that may contain a brown or other coloured liquid.

The council said: ‘It is important that anyone with such a capsule hands it over to their parents, the school, an appropriate adult or the police and not to ingest it.’

Papdale Halls accommodates secondary school students from the north and south Orkney isles to enable them to study at Kirkwall Grammar School. Police said inquiries ‘are ongoing’.