A 76-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of administering poison after eight children at a summer camp were taken to hospital.
Police and ambulance crews were deployed to the rural camp in Stathern, Leicestershire, after a report that a number of children had said they were unwell.
The initial call was made on Sunday by a “third party”, Leicestershire police said. But it was not until Monday that police and ambulance crews were deployed.
A triage centre was set up at the nearby Plungar village hall to assess the children who were at the camp. Eight children were then taken to hospital as a precaution, with all of them subsequently discharged.
The children were at a summer camp in a youth centre called Stathern Lodge, which is owned by the Braithwaite Gospel Trust and is about a mile from the village. A representative of the trust said the centre provided self-catering facilities and was hired out, so the trust had no direct involvement with the camp.
Police said a man, 76, had been arrested at a nearby public house on Monday evening on suspicion of administering poison or a noxious thing with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy. The man remains in custody.
Neighbours described seeing stressed parents outside the village hall on Monday.
A 28-year-old woman who lives nearby said: “We saw all the ambulances and police cars outside. All the kids were very guarded, they would not let anybody near it. Everybody was pretty stressed out. There were like four police cars, critical care teams, an ambulance, there was quite a lot. It was crazy. The parents were pretty stressed, they were here until probably 11pm.”
A police spokesperson said the force had referred itself to the watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), “due to the circumstances of the initial police response”.
Speaking at the scene, James Avery, an assistant chief constable of Leicestershire police, said it was a complex and sensitive investigation.
He was unable give out further information on the age of children, where they were from or the nature of what their illness was. “Other than explaining that they came down with symptoms of feeling unwell I’m unable to elaborate any further at this stage.” He said “care, compassion and support” was being provided to the children.
The investigation is being led by an East Midlands major incident team. DI Neil Holden, the senior investigating officer, said: “We understand the concern this incident will have caused to parents, guardians and the surrounding community. We are in contact with the parents and guardians of all children concerned.
“Please be reassured that we have several dedicated resources deployed and are working with partner agencies, including children’s services, to ensure full safeguarding is provided to the children involved.
“We also remain at the scene to carry out inquiries into the circumstances of what has happened and to continue to provide advice and support in the area. This is a complex and sensitive investigation and we will continue to provide updates to both parents and guardians and the public as and when we can.”
The force said detectives and uniformed officers from the Melton and Rutland neighbourhood policing area were still in Stathern carrying out further inquiries and seeking to establish the circumstances of the incident. They were also “providing reassurance to families affected as well as the local community”.
The IOPC said: “We received a conduct referral on Tuesday from Leicestershire police relating to their handling of concerns passed to them over the wellbeing of a group of children.
“Our assessment team has examined all available evidence and concluded the matter should be independently investigated by the IOPC. The investigation will look at whether there were any breaches of professional behaviour – namely a failure to carry out duties and responsibilities – that resulted in a delay in Leicestershire police’s response to what was later declared a critical incident.”
Edward Argar, the local MP, encouraged the police to provide as much information as possible about what happened.
He said: “The reports of this incident are clearly shocking and deeply concerning. While, understandably, people will have a lot of questions about what has happened, it is important we remember this is a live police criminal investigation, so I would caution against people speculating while the police do that work.
“I would, however, encourage the police to provide as much information publicly as they can, as soon as they can, but without prejudicing that vital investigation.”
Anyone with any information in relation to the investigation is being asked by detectives to report it here.
