A PARTICULARLY sinister aspect of the illegal drugs market is that some drugs are designed to look like sweets - to appeal to children.

At the weekend three 12-year-old girls in Salford were rushed to hospital in a serious condition, after taking ecstasy pills called 'Teddy Tablets'.

The girls are now in a stable condition, and police said a man and a woman were arrested on suspicion of being in possession of drugs.

Police warned young people to stay away from the party drug - which has already led to the death of a 22-year-old woman in recent weeks and a 17-year-old girl a few months ago.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Walker of Greater Manchester Police said: "Sadly, three more young people, who are only 12-years-old, have taken ecstasy and ended up in hospital.

"The girls took a type of ecstasy described as Teddy Tablets. It is imperative young people understand the implications and avoid taking drugs, to stop any more young people ending up in hospital.

"We will continue to repeat our warnings in the hope that young people will think twice before taking drugs, after seeing the damage they cause to lives. People taking these drugs don't know what they contain or what effect they will have. It's not worth the risk of ending up in hospital or even suffering fatal consequences."

With some drugs shaped like Lego bricks, and others given names like 'Superman', there's no doubt that this strand of the drugs trade is aimed at a young party scene.

Donna Siberry is a team leader at Branching Out Lifeline, a drug and alcohol service for young people aged 21 and under. She said that while 'Teddy Tablets' and other such drugs aren't the prevalent substances used by young people she encounters, they are a significant part of the drugs scene.

"Those kind of ecstasy tablets have always been brightly coloured, and designed with things like smiley faces," she said.

"We're not seeing a huge amount of young people using these drugs, it's not the number one substance of use for that age group, but because it's something we're so aware of we do a lot of targeted intervention in schools and youth groups. We have a specific section on substances update, and a big part of our drug prevention work is on MDMA and ecstasy."

She added: "Cannabis is the substance young people experiment with the most. The average age of young people we deal with is 15, 16 and 17."

Branching Out has substance misuse workers linked to schools and drug prevention programmes are tailored to specific age groups.

"It's about open discussion, laying down the facts about drugs," said Donna.

The organisation has a multi-agency partnership, working with youth groups, youth offending teams and professionals working with young people.

"We are currently conducting a survey with Calderdale Young People and Adult Service trying to identify local trends in substance use - this will be going to both adults and young people," said Donna. "We will use the survey to establish whether there are any trends emerging that we're not aware of, and where, so we can put extra services into place."

A mother whose son died after taking ecstasy said children need more awareness on drugs. Fiona Spargo-Mabbs, whose son Daniel, 16, died after taking MDMA at an illegal rave in 2014, said conversations about drugs needed to be kept "open and frank".

Of the girls rushed to hospital at the weekend, she said: "It's just so awful, they are just so young. I know what it's like being in the hospital, the awfulness of not knowing. I'm so relieved that hopefully they are going to be okay."

Daniel died of multiple organ failure three days after taking MDMA, or ecstasy. He was among five friends who had clubbed together £80 to buy the class A drug before the party.

Following his death Mrs Spargo-Mabbs and her husband Tim set up the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation to make youngsters aware of the dangers of drug abuse. They take their drug awareness programmes into schools.

She added: "For most young people, even if they know it is ecstasy, they are not going to understand what that means. They look like sweets and are designed to appeal to kids, there has been ones shaped like Lego bricks, ones called Rockstar."

She warned that young people were using ecstasy more because of its availability and cost, but stressed that the drugs were "much stronger".

"It's just ecstasy in a different form but it has all the same risks. They have no kind of awareness how strong it is. A 12-year-old's body is really small and not able to cope."

* For more about Branching Out Lifeline call (01422) 510000.