Six pupils rushed to hospital after copying scene of schoolchildren drinking deadly ethanol on BBC's

Six pupils rushed to hospital after copying scene of schoolchildren drinking deadly ethanol on BBC's Waterloo Road

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 4:15 PM on 13th November 2009

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Six schoolchildren at a specialist science college had to be taken to hospital after they copied a TV storyline and made cocktails from a chemical.

The five girls and a boy, aged 14 and 15, mimicked scenes from an episode of the BBC drama Waterloo Road which aired on Wednesday evening.

The episode of the Manchester-based drama which centres on a troubled comprehensive school featured a girl being taken to hospital by a teacher after drinking the pure alcohol liquid sold by other pupils at the fictional school.

The lobby group Mediawatch has today demanded tighter content control after the incident at Aldridge School, in Walsall, West Midlands.

Dangerous: A schoolgirl drinks ethanol in the BBC drama Waterloo Road

Vivianne Pattison, director of the watchdog, said it was worrying events on screen had translated to real life in such a shocking way.

She said: 'People say television does not have any effect on real life and then something like this happens.

'Broadcasters keep saying viewers can tell the difference between TV and reality but this shows this is clearly not the case.

'They need to know that what they put out does have an effect, especially on young minds.'

The chemical was stolen during a science lesson on Thursday and the alarm raised after the pupils confessed to a member of staff.

They told headteacher David Mountney how they had watched an episode of the BBC show in which teenagers made ethanol cocktails.

Three ambulances, a paramedic in a rapid response vehicle and an incident support officer were sent to the school and took the children to Walsall Manor Hospital.

Impressionable: Six teenagers stole ethanol during a science lesson in imitation of the Waterloo Road scenes

In a statement, Mr Mountney said: 'Following the theft of a sample of pure ethanol from a science lesson yesterday six students having admitted drinking some of the liquid, were sent to the local hospital for a blood test.

'All were returned home with their families after these tests.

'There are no concerns about their health and well-being and all of them are fully engaged in their GCSE exams at school today, as normal.

'We are now undertaking a full investigation of these events, but can confirm that a full health and safety report will be undertaken and appropriate disciplinary procedures will be followed.

'We are working with all relevant agencies on these aspects. We take pride in our care for students and all lessons that can be learnt from this event will be.'

Tony Stainer, managing director of Walsall Children's Services, agreed with the head teacher and said the incident was being treated very seriously.

He said: 'We are pleased that all the students are well and back in school today.

Not glamorous: Wednesday's Waterloo Road episode clearly showed the dangers of using ethanol, claims the BBC

'We are satisfied that the school is taking this matter very seriously and are working with them in order to gain a complete understanding of how this happened in order to prevent a further occurrence of this type.

'All schools in Walsall have rigorous health and safety procedures and we will be sharing lessons learnt from this incident with them.'

The BBC was criticised for screening the pre-watershed scenes that inspired the potentially deadly stunt.

A parent, who did not want to be named, said: 'I was watching the programme at the time and I said to my husband that I thought someone would copy it.

'It never should have been screened because children are very impressionable. I think the BBC should be punished in some way for this - it could have turned out so much worse.

'These are developing minds that we are talking about. The BBC has a responsibility to take more care about what it puts out.'

Councillor Rachel Walker, who represents the council's children's services said the broadcaster had taken a gamble with the programme.

The six students were all from specialist science college Aldridge School, in Walsall, the West Midlands

She said: 'The BBC has taken a risk with their programming as they do with lots of their gritty storylines.

'It's unfortunate that the young people had access to the chemicals involved and did not take on board the further content of the show.'

In the broadcast on Wednesday, a nurse repeatedly told the pupils they could die and told them it was very dangerous.

A spokesman for the BBC defended the content of the programme and insisted it had tackled an important issue in a proper manner.

He said: 'Waterloo Road has always tackled serious issues of the day in a responsible manner.

'Wednesday's episode clearly showed the dangers of using ethanol and did not glamorise it in any way.

'Each storyline is thoroughly researched using experts within their respective fields.'