Vape is being examined after boy, 11, rushed to hospital: Teen arrested
A teenage boy has been arrested and police are testing a vape after an 11-year-old boy fell unconscious for almost an hour.
The boy reportedly passed out within minutes of trying a vape, but survived after receiving three doses of Naloxone, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses.
CCTV operators spotted the boy and alerted emergency services in Weston-super-Mare at around 3.40pm on Tuesday.
A Community Patrol Officer administered emergency care while they waited for paramedics to arrive, who then took him to hospital. The boy has since been discharged and is recovering at home.
The boy’s mother said: ‘Tonight my worst nightmare as a parent became a reality.
‘Someone in Weston thought it was acceptable to give my 11-year-old son a vape laced with toxins.
‘Watching your child lying there, not knowing if they’re going to wake up, is something no parent should ever have to experience.
‘Thankfully an incredible Community Patrol Officer administered Naloxone three times, and because of that quick thinking my baby boy is still here with me tonight.
‘This could have ended in tragedy.’
An 11-year-old was hospitalised in Weston-super-Mare (pictured) and police have arrested a teenage boy
A teenage boy was later arrested and released under investigation, while a teenage girl attended a voluntary interview on Wednesday, Avon and Somerset Police said.
The force said police officers are also carrying out tests on a vape they recovered.
This is the second arrest in a fortnight in Weston-super-Mare related to vapes that have potentially harmed people.
A 20-year-old man was arrested at the end of March on suspicion of administering a noxious substance, and a number of vapes seized for examination, after a woman fell ill when she tried a sample in a vape shop.
If either of the two patients are found to have used an illegal vape, there is a danger they contained high levels of nicotine or other harmful substances, such as lead or nickel.
Inspector Lee Kerslake, from the force, said: ‘We know how concerning this incident is for our communities in Weston-super-Mare and we’re carrying out a number of enquiries as part of our investigation.
‘We will be keeping the boy’s family updated as this work progresses. They are understandably shaken by what happened and we will provide any support we can.
‘The neighbourhood policing team works very closely with our partners, including local authorities, to tackle issues around the sale of illegal vapes which pose significant health risks.’
Anyone with any information about the incident should call 101, using the reference number 5226094766.
Councillor James Clayton, for Weston-super-Mare south, praised the ‘prompt intervention’ of a community response officer who helped the child while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.
He said: ‘The young boy had been given a vape device believed to be laced with harmful substances and rapidly became unwell.
‘Medical staff later confirmed that Chrissie Simpson’s actions, […] were instrumental and had potentially saved the boy’s life.’
The issue of unlicensed vape shops recently hit the headlines after one sparked the devastating fire next to Glasgow Central station.
The hotspots for these unregistered vendors have been revealed in a map.
More than 1.2million illegal e-cigarettes have been seized across the UK over the last few years – the equivalent of two every minute, a report by Vape Club found.
The data shines a light on the volume of dangerous and unregulated devices trying to make their way to consumers – and the potential number slipping through the cracks.
Not only are the counterfeit products harmful to public health, but they now have the added danger of being a ‘powder keg’ that could spark deadly fires due to their volatile lithium batteries.
E-cigarettes in the UK are subject to strict regulations. As illegal vapes do not conform to British regulation, they can be more dangerous to inhale and present a greater fire risk. Shops often do not pay tax on them either.
The Vape Club’s annual report on illegal vapes has revealed the local authority area with the highest number of illegal vapes seized in the last year was Central Bedfordshire Council, which includes towns such as Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable.
Some 345,718 illegal vapes were seized by the council last year, a 205 per cent increase from 2024.
