BUNGLING COP SPREADS STRAWBERRY METH MYTH

A policeman alerted hundreds of families to the danger-drug
Strawberry Meth - despite the fact it does not exist.

Pupils and parents at 80 schools in Oxfordshire were warned of the
possible risks of the fruit-flavoured drug, also known as Strawberry
Quick, by the unwitting officer.

The spurious alert came after the officer sent an email via a special
system connecting police and schools without checking it with colleagues.

The drug, said to contain deadly crystal meth, had apparently been
given to children in sweet form by strangers outside school gates,
leading to two victims being hospitalised.

But there had never been such an incident, and the officer had
forwarded on an email well known for being an Internet hoax.

If he had checked with colleagues or even typed the drug's name into
Google the email would have been revealed as an urban myth.

Schools were worried by the threat because of the recent hype
surrounding crystal meth, which can result in psychiatric problems for users.

West Oxfordshire's most senior police officer was forced to apologise
over the fiasco.

Chief Inspector Dennis Evendon said: "The officer should have double
checked before taking this action, which he did take with the best intentions.

"We will be making sure this sort of thing does not happen again."

The myth of Strawberry Meth is believed to have originated in
America, which has been circulating on the Internet in the UK for months.

In November. drugs charity DrugScope issued a press release warning
of the hoax, and police officers in Lincolnshire alerted people to
the scam in the same month.

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said the officer would not be
disciplined over the incident but said internal processes would be reviewed.