GIRL'S PARENTS WARN OF ECSTASY PLAGUE

THE parents of a teenager who died after taking the dance drug ecstasy have
spoken publicly for the first time about their daughter's death.

They warned other parents of the dangers their children face when they
experiment with drugs.

''Parents know they have children going to bars and clubs just like Julia
did last Saturday night. "They know their dear lovely children can be
foolish, they can succumb to peer pressure, they can be vulnerable and they
can die,'' said the teenager's mother.

''Youngsters need to be careful, very careful where they socialise, even in
a little town like Perth.

"The whole country is plagued by ecstasy and when someone as young and as
beautiful as Julia dies it touches hearts far and wide.''

Three days ago, the parents of teenage ecstasy victim Julia Dawes took the
heartbreaking decision to switch off their daughter's life support machine.

A series of brain scans on the 18-year-old fitness instructor showed she had
no hope of recovering.

She had been in a coma at Perth Royal Infirmary since Sunday after taking
two ecstasy tablets on a night out to celebrate a friend's birthday.

Her mother Jacqueline (39) told reporter Gordon Bannerman of the Perthshire
Advertiser: ''We had been at the hospital since Sunday morning when Julia
was admitted.

"All the time Julia was on the life support machine, I think I knew deep
down, that we would never have her back.

''She looked so beautiful, so peaceful, as if she was in a deep, deep sleep.''

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett