THE ‘legal high’ drug mephedrone has hit the streets of Lyme Regis.

Three local teenagers were detained by police after being found in possession of the potentially fatal dance drug, also known as meow meow or M-Cat.

The youths, two aged 16 and one aged 14, were searched at Lyme Regis police station after they were seen by officers in the town centre with wraps of white powder.

Police, teachers, parents and councillors have condemned the arrival of the substance in the town and fear the harmful effects it could have on young people.

Mephedrone is sold legally as plant food but the Government is considering banning the substance and making it a Class B drug, the same classification as cannabis and amphetamines.

Lyme’s community beat manager PC Richard Winward said: “At the moment it’s legal but obviously there are people who are dying from using it or it is causing them significant harm.

“They may think they’re buying mephedrone but it could be mixed with anything else to bulk it out a bit.”

PC Winward saw the three teenagers, all from Lyme Regis, walking down Broad Street last Wednesday evening.

He said: “I saw one of them handing some packages to the other two. It looked to me like they were handing over what could have been drugs.

“When they saw me approaching two of them stuffed the wraps in their underpants.

“They weren’t arrested but they were brought back to the police station where they were searched.

“The 14-year-old was found to be in possession of two wraps of a white powder which he said was mephedrone. The others had one wrap each, and also claimed that they contained mephedrone.”

The drugs were seized and will be tested. A decision on how the youths will be dealt with will depend on the results of the testing.

“We can’t really tell what the drug is and this is the difficult thing,” said PC Winward. “They may have bought it as mephedrone but when the police turn up and we find a white powder, as far as we’re concerned it could be anything.

“So they run the risk of getting arrested and taken to Weymouth and interviewed.

“In this case, because they were locals, we were able to deal with them with their parents at the police station.”

There is no indication of whether the youths attend the Woodroffe School, but headteacher Dr Richard Steward has warned it will not be tolerated there.

He said: “Woodroffe has a really strong policy on drugs and students know that if they are caught with drugs in school or under the influence of drugs, they will be dealt with very severely.

“Students attempting to pass on drugs and involve others would be automatically excluded.”

Dr Steward said the school worked closely with the police and had an extensive programme of drug education.

“We have been watching the mephedrone issue very closely and will, like the police, treat it like any other drug,” he said.

Town councillor Stan Williams, who is also chairman of the Woodmead Halls management committee, said: “This concerns me with the Woodmead Halls because we put on a lot of events. We are going to have to keep a very tight watch on what people are getting up to.”

PC Winward said it was ‘vital’ to bring the issue to parents’ attention. He said: “My genuine aim is to make parents realise they have got to look out for these things.”