TWO men were today being quizzed by police after four schoolgirls were taken to hospital suspected of taking dance-drug ecstasy.

The four teenage girls from Primet High School, Colne, were taken to hospital after taking pills which police believe to be ecstasy outside the school gates.

Two local men were arrested on suspicion of possession of a class A drug this morning and were due to be interviewed by detectives at Burnley police station.

Police and paramedics were called to the school shortly after 10am yesterday after the girls reported feeling unwell. One of the girls, who are all aged 14, was taken to Burnley General Hospital by ambulance and the others all went with parents to the Accident and Emergency Department. All four were discharged yesterday afternoon and are recovering at home.

Police said the girls had taken white tablets which have been described as either heart-shaped or with a heart-shaped motif on them.

In December six girls aged 14 and 15 from Witton Park High School Business and Enterprise College in Blackburn were taken to hospital after taking ecstasy.

A 14-year-old girl was later given a referral order by magistrates after pleading guilty to supplying class A drugs.

Teachers at Primet are now working with police, who were back in the school today, to highlight the dangers of drug use.

Following the incident all pupils were summoned to an emergency assembly at the school where teachers and police officers stressed the dangers of taking illegal substances and warned of the consequences both from a health and policing point of view.

An immediate investigation was also launched by Pendle CID looking into how the pupils came to get their hands on the tablets, which led to the arrests.

Detective Inspector Dermott Horrigan said: "This is an isolated but very serious incident which led to three pupils attending hospital. Thankfully, at this stage it appears that none of them have done themselves any long-term damage although things could potentially have been a lot worse - young people elsewhere in the country have died after taking ecstasy.

"I would like to praise the school for contacting the police straight away and for co-operating fully with local officers."

He added: "Working with the school, we've already put a number of interventions into place to make sure this doesn't happen again, including meetings with staff and pupils. Our focus will now concentrate on trying to find where the tablets came from and, given the serious nature of the incident, we will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to trace the origins of these pills."

He said: "Drugs like ecstasy can seriously damage your health so if you are offered drugs of any kind, our advice would always be to simply say no."

"As for those taking or supplying controlled substances our message is clear; the use and supply of drugs in Pendle will not be tolerated. Where there is clear evidence of offences, we will put people before the courts."

Anyone with any information about this case or about the use or supply of drugs elsewhere in Colne can contact police on 01282 425001 or Crimestoppers free and in confidence on 0800 555 111.

Nobody from Primet High School was available for comment.