LONDON, Aug 1 — UK police said on Thursday they had arrested a 76-year-old man on suspicion of administering poison after eight children at a summer camp were taken to hospital.
Emergency services were called to the camp in the village of Stathern in central England over a “report of several children feeling unwell” following a call received on Sunday, Leicestershire police said in a statement.
A triage centre was set up to assess all the youngsters at and “eight children were taken to hospital as a precaution and have all since been discharged”, the police added.
The man in custody is being questioned on suspicion of “administering poison/a noxious thing with intent to injure/aggrieve/annoy”.
Leicestershire Police added that they had also referred themselves to a police complaints watchdog over their handling of the incident.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said the referral centred on the force’s “handling of concerns passed to them over the wellbeing of a group of children” after they were notifed about the incident.
“The investigation will look at whether there were any breaches of professional behaviour… that resulted in a delay in Leicestershire Police’s response to what was later declared a critical incident.” — AFP
