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Father Niki London thought his daughter Brooke was going to die after taking a pill to treat Parkinson's

00:01, 21 September 2013

A 12-year-old girl spent three days in hospital after taking a pill to treat Parkinson’s disease, given to her by a friend.

Father of four Niki London said he thought his daughter Brooke was going to die after she started hallucinating.

She was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital and the incident was reported to police, who began an investigation as to how Brooke obtained the drug.

Doctors initially thought she had taken a rogue ecstasy tablet but Brooke told her family and medical staff she had been given a little blue pill with a picture on it by someone at her school, Thomas Aveling in Rochester.

Mr London said Brooke, now 13, started acting strangely when she arrived at the family home in Castle Avenue, Rochester at the end of last term.

He said: “I never took any notice at first but half an hour later she got very giggly. Then she started laughing hysterically and when I told her off she laughed back at me, which is something she would never do.

“I thought I was losing my little girl. I have never been more scared in my life” - Niki London

He added: “She’s been stupid and just wanted to fit in with the other kids, but hopefully she has learned her lesson the hard way.”

Mr London has just received a letter from police outlining the results of laboratory tests which confirmed the presence of a drug called Procyclidine, which is used to treat Parkinson’s disease, found in Brooke’s urine.

The letter said this could represent remnants of the tablet that Brooke took before she was admitted to hospital.

Thomas Aveling School in Rochester
Thomas Aveling School in Rochester

Police are continuing their inquiries into where Brooke may have obtained the original tablet.

The matter has also been reported to Thomas Aveling school. Head teacher Paul Jackson said: “An incident was reported to the school, we and the police performed a full investigation including a review of CCTV footage, and absolutely no evidence was found to suggest that the pill had been brought into school or passed between students.

“Any allegation of this nature is taken very seriously and investigated thoroughly by the school.”

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