A PRO-active meeting at Tavistock College on Tuesday saw parents and police work together to focus on the issue of drugs with youngsters in the West Devon area.

Around 100 parents filled the hall for advice on how to tackle drugs and where the substances could be coming from.

The meeting was hosted by the college following the death of a pupil at the school, 15-year-old Hannah Bragg, who died from an adverse reaction to MDMA, which is believed to have been purchased on the ‘dark web’.

Organiser of the meeting was parent Victoria Piper, who worked closely with Tavistock police officers. Police and staff from drug and alcohol service Y-Smart gave presentations on the dark web and how easy it was to access.

Tavistock College principal Sarah Jones said: ‘We hold parent forums regularly and on different topics but for this topic we had 99 people turn up which shows how important this is to parents.’

‘It’s so important that the message gets out there to other parents on how children are at risk from the dark web.

‘Teenagers take risks, that’s what they do, but we have to work together to educate everyone to make sure that they are well informed of the dangers of drugs and the dark web.’

West Devon inspector Mark Sloman said: ‘We know young people experiment and take risks but we are aware that parents want advice on how they can best educate their children on the dangers of drug usage and the dark web.

‘We want parents to have more informed discussions with their children, we don’t want to scare them. Children from all walks of life are taking drugs as it is so easily accessible.

‘We have lost three youngsters in the area now and this is a very important issue that needs to be tackled.’

Ms Jones added: ‘We encourage parents to check their children’s phone for certain apps as that’s how they are accessing the dark web. Are your children asking for more money? Are parcels arriving but you don’t know what they are? These are just some of the signs to look out for.’

• Tavistock police have organised fortnightly drop-in sessions to help parents concerned about their children, starting today (Thursday) at The Queen’s Head from 9.30am to 11am.

Any parents concerned about their children with issues ranging from drugs, sexual exploitation, alcohol, online usage, or anything else that concerns their children can go and speak with PCSO Kevin Williams.