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Five people left “critically ill” after Parklife due to high-strength ecstasy, police issue warning

The 'Skype' pills contain up to three times the regular dose of MDMA... 

Five people have been left “critically ill” after Parklife festival due to high-strength ecstasy, leading police to issue a warning. 

The 'Skype' tablets are said to have around three times the dose of MDMA normally found in pills of this type, with tests showing 250-300mg present. 

During the event, which took place in Manchester's Heaton Park last weekend with around 80,000 people in attendance, drug awareness and testing charity The Loop posted a photo of the tablets to Twitter with a note to revellers after they had been linked to a series of welfare cases. 

A number of people were taken to North Manchester and Fairfield Hospital for drug and alcohol-related issues, including five who needed emergency treatment after consuming the pills. Professor Matt Makin, Medical Director of the facility, described the patients as "critically ill". 

Read our feature from last year on The Loop's work and the politics of harm reduction