Children as young as 12 are getting hooked on ketamine in Lancashire, police have said.

Fifteen people have recently been arrested in an operation to tackle the illegal supply of the drug in Burnley and Padiham.

Insp Matt Plummer, from Lancashire Police, said illegal ketamine usage was a problem across the whole of the county with many residents reporting their concerns.

He told BBC Radio Lancashire that "children as young as 12 and 13" were using the drug.

Ketamine is an anaesthetic that can be prescribed for medical and veterinary usage, but misuse can damage the bladder and kidneys. It has also been used in spiking attacks.

Experts have warned of an alarming increase in bladder issues among young people due to chronic ketamine use.

Insp Plummer said: "It's being used recreationally among children of that age and that is where we will see the issue now for Lancashire Police and this is happening across Lancashire – not just Burnley and Padiham."

Record levels

Grace Willsher, from the drug support charity, WithYou, said: "It's very cheap, it is very easy to get hold of and it is used by young people very similarly to alcohol.

"A lot of young people – if we think about county lines and exploitation – they themselves can be brought into that network around where they get it from."

The charity, which supports people aged 11 to 24, said earlier this year that the number seeking help across Lancashire increased from 32 in 2018-19 to 123 by the end of 2024.

• 'Ketamine left me needing a bladder transplant'

The drug is classified as Class B, with the maximum penalty for supply and production of 14 years in jail.

The government said it was seeking expert advice on whether to reclassify ketamine as a Class A substance, which would mean anyone supplying it could be handed a life sentence.

It comes after illegal usage reached record levels in England and Wales in the year ending March 2023 – when an estimated 299,000 people aged 16-59 reported they had consumed the drug in the previous year.

BBC Sounds