Party Vibe

BBC News – Tuesday, 26 June, 2001, 21:51 GMT 22:51 UK

Second raver dies from rogue ‘ecstasy’…

The tablets were circulating at an all-night rave. A second man has died after taking tablets from a “bad batch” of drugs suspected to be ecstasy at an all-night rave, Scotland Yard said.Steven Brett, 19, from Surrey, was pronounced dead at 1640BST on Tuesday. He had been taken to King’s College Hospital for treatment on Sunday morning after being found collapsed and convulsing near the SE1 nightclub under London Bridge railway station.

Clubbers have been warned to avoid these tablets. A Scotland Yard spokesman said a postmortem into Mr Brett’s death would be held shortly and an inquest would open soon. Detectives on Monday issued a picture of an ecstasy tablet similar to those found in a “bad” batch which it is feared caused the deaths of the two men. Bret Karl Gilkes, 20, from Birmingham, died on Sunday morning after being taken to St Thomas’s Hospital in London. Police launched a nationwide amnesty for anyone who had bought the tablets and not taken them yet.

Third victim

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Anyone who has bought such a tablet anywhere in the country is asked to hand it in to police.” The tablets were circulated among clubgoers at the all-night “Raindance” festival at the SE1 nightclub on Saturday. A number fell ill. Superintendent Wayne Smith said clubbers should hand the tablets to police. Another man, 19, from west London, remains in a critical condition at St Thomas’s Hospital after going there himself when he started to fall ill.

Up to six other clubgoers have so far presented themselves at St Thomas’s Hospital with symptoms of drug overdoses and have been discharged. Police warned that more people could still be affected by the drugs and urged anyone who still had them not to take them. Anyone who thinks they bought some of the contaminated tablets is asked to call the police incident room on 0208 247 8275.