Three found unconscious believed to have ingested chemical

Three people who were found lying unconscious in a street in Middlesbrough are believed to have ingested a dangerous chemical, police have said.

Police in Cleveland told Yahoo! News that the two women and a man found on Friday morning had ingested a chemical, possibly gamma-butyrolactone.

Gamma-butyrolactone (sometimes known as GBL) is a colourless solvent said to be found in substances such as cleaning products, nail polish, and superglue removers.

The trio were found unconscious outside of the Zetland Pub on Marske High Street at around 12.35am.

The women, aged 27 and 22, and the 22-year-old man were taken by ambulance to James Cook University Hospital for treatment.

Two have regained consciousness while the 22-year-old woman remains in a critical condition in hospital.

A spokeswoman from Cleveland Police said: “Officers have now issued a warning to people not to take dangerous chemicals as their effects can be extremely harmful or even fatal.”

GBL is a Class C drug when intended for human ingestion.

[See original story: Three found unconscious in street]

Anyone with information on this incident are urged to contact Detective Inspector Mark Dimelow of Kirkleatham Police Office on 01642 302626.