THREE pupils were arrested and reprimanded by the police after being found with cannabis at an Accrington school.

The three are all boys at Mount Carmel RC School, Wordsworth Road.

One student has been suspended and will only be allowed back in school for his GCSE exams.

The two others were temporarily suspended but have now returned to lessons.

PS Bob Eaton, the town's community beat manager, said: "The school alerted us to it. The pupils were arrested and dealt with in the normal way.

"They had no previous convictions, so they have been reprimanded. To our knowledge, it's not a school with a particular problem.

"It was a one-off incident which the school dealt with in a positive and prompt way."

Youngsters aged under 17 can receive two reprimands and then a final warning, he explained, before any court action is taken.

He said Mount Carmel head teacher Katrina Ryan operated a zero-tolerance attitude to drugs and was working with the police to raise awareness of the issues among pupils. The school and police enjoyed close relations, he said.

Katrina Ryan added: "We don't have a drugs problem and have never had an incident in school before.

"We have been involved in a scheme called Blueprint, which is about prevention and not because there is a drugs problem. That is not the case at all.

"We have a zero-tolerance attitude to drugs.

"However, we are aware of the problems in the wider community and do our best to educate children toward that.

"Through the vigilance of staff, this matter was dealt with quickly and sorted-out before the police arrived."