FITNESS TEACHER DIES AFTER TAKING ECSTASY

A fitness instructor died in hospital yesterday, days after she was believed
to have taken the dance drug ecstasy.

Eighteen-year-old Julia Dawes died in Perth Royal Infirmary, where she had
been in intensive care since Sunday after collapsing at her home on the
outskirts of the town.

She had spent Saturday night celebrating a friend's 24th birthday and is
believed to have taken two ecstasy tablets in a Perth nightclub.

A statement from Perth and Kinross Healthcare NHS Trust yesterday said that
Ms Dawes's death had left her parents, Alan and Jacqueline, and her brother,
Jonathan, "deeply grieved".

"They wish time to be alone as a family to come to terms with the loss of
Julia," said the statement.

It added that Mr Dawes and his family wanted to thank hospital staff for the
care they gave his daughter in her final hours.

"Mr Dawes would like to say that, from the bottom of their hearts, they have
experienced a breadth and depth of human compassion from doctors, nurses and
ambulance services, more than they could have wished for, and an experience
of loving care that will endure in their memories for ever."

Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"