TWO teenagers high on ketamine sway like zombies on the canal path yards from happy Burnley fans fresh from watching their team clinch promotion back to the Premier League.
While the town is basking in football glory, it’s also tackling a growing epidemic which has seen kids as young as 12 hooked on it, with fears child dealers are bringing it into primary schools.
The Sun can reveal that one 13-year-old girl dealer even created a “business plan”;; to set herself up as a drug boss, complete with profit and loss estimates, and had recruited dealers and runners to peddle the popular party drug – also known as ‘‘ or ‘Kit Kat’.
Teenage girls are feared to have been sexually assaulted while high, and addicts have self-harmed and attempted suicide in the former mill town where the white powder can be bought for just £10 a gram.
Recreational use of the horse tranquilliser has doubled in a year in the UK, and it is believed to be made legally in factories in as well as illegally in , Laos and .
The is then smuggled to Britain via Belgium or Holland and sold by county lines drug dealers.
According to the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System, the number of 18-year-olds in England entering drug treatment who identify ketamine as one of their problem substances rose to 917 in 2023-24 from 335 in 2020-2021.
Ketamine is particularly damaging to the inner lining of the bladder, and heavy users can end up incontinent or needing to have the organ removed and replaced with a bag.
The potent painkiller and sedative has become a hugely popular street drug due to its hallucinogenic and relaxing effects, but it can be highly dangerous.
Hollywood actor , who played Chandler in the sitcom , died in 2023 after an overdose, and former UK winner died aged 32 of a cardiac arrest caused by the effects of taking ketamine in January.
In Burnley, tragic teenager fell into the Leeds-Liverpool Canal after taking the horse tranquilliser drug with three friends.
His inquest heard that a witness saw them acting like “zombies”;; and could not control their legs.
Local vicar Alex Frost, 55, who has been campaigning about the dangers of ketamine, told The Sun: “Tragically they could not help him as they were too out of it.
“It’s a pandemic here in Burnley. It’s undoubtedly one of the ketamine hotspots in the country.
“It’s shocking the scale of it. It’s due to the high levels of deprivation and also the cost of it.”;;
The married dad-of-three, who is the vicar of St Matthews Church, added: “We have seen 12-year-old kids being addicted.
It’s a pandemic here in Burnley. It’s undoubtedly one of the ketamine hotspots in the country
Alex Frost
“And then the dealers groom kids with the latest trainers... the latest fashion gear, then they got in debt over it and have to sell more.
“I know of one 13-year-old girl who did a business plan for selling ketamine. She had profit and loss margins – she had worked out how much she could get it for and then how much she sold it for.
“If she had only managed to funnel that enterprise into something legitimate, that would be very impressive.
“Her mother only found out she was involved in ketamine when she saw a picture of her daughter being held by her ankles and then dropped down the stairs of a house while they were all high on ketamine.”;;
‘K-hole’
The vicar, who turned to campaigning when a parishioner broke down in tears over the effect ketamine was having on her daughter, wants the drug to be upgraded to a Class A category.
The synthetic drug’s origins lie in the early 1970s, when it was developed as an easily administered anaesthetic for combatants in the Vietnam War.
It became popular in the 90s as a clubbing drug alongside ecstasy.
An excessive hit can cause temporary catatonia, known as a “K-hole”;;.
Former addict Finley Worthington, who racked up £22,000 debts over ketamine, told The Sun: “That’s the ultimate hit. When you have experienced a k-hole, you chase it.
“I have seen all sorts on the drug. One time I hallucinated that I was on a fairground ride in my bedroom and I was going round and round – it was crazy.
“I chased that high to see that again.”;;
The 25-year-old was addicted to ketamine for six years and at times snorted more than seven grams a day.
He said: “I was in hospital many times because of ketamine. It was very scary.
“The pain was so bad that I ended up using ketamine as an anaesthetic.
“Kids now take it in houses, parks or by the canal. You see them in clubs swaying like zombies.”;;
‘Hidden epidemic’
Finley now works as a charity drugs counsellor and runs support group Ketamine Education Services.
Shaking his head, he added: “We are seeing kids as young as 12 addicted to it but I’m sure it’s being taken into primary schools and sold by kids just ten or 11.
“It’s shocking. It’s a hidden epidemic.”;;
One mum said her daughter’s ten-month ket addiction was a nightmare.
Kids now take it in houses, parks or by the canal. You see them in clubs swaying like zombies
Finley Worthington
Speaking to The Sun from her home, she said: “It was a living hell when she was suffering withdrawals.
“She threw plates at us, attacked us and all sorts. My daughter self-harmed and talked about killing herself. It was a nightmare.
“The Government needs to . It is everywhere in Burnley – kids take it in parks and by the canals.
“It’s so cheap – they put pocket money in and club together to buy it.”;;
Ketamine is classified as Class B, with the maximum penalty for supply and production 14 years in jail.
The Government said it was seeking expert advice on whether to reclassify ketamine as a Class A which would mean anyone supplying it could be handed a life sentence.
Lancashire Police has launched Operation Shore to crack down on the supply of ketamine in Burnley and nearby Padiham.
A boy of 15 was among those arrested in dawn raids.
Cops are also cracking down on e-bikes and e-scooters being used to deal ketamine throughout the borough.
Inspector Matt Plummer said: “We have seen a concerning rise in ketamine misuse across our communities, and it’s vital that we respond both with enforcement and education.”;;
Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, director of public health at Lancashire County Council, said: “There has been an increase in ketamine use nationally so it is incredibly important for us to work together with our partners to help stop ketamine getting into our communities.
“We are already providing support to those affected by ketamine and their families, as well as delivering sessions to children and parents to educate them about the dangers of ketamine.
“In a very short period of time, ketamine can cause permanent damage to the body, including bladder problems, changes in mental health, memory, and damage to your nose, liver and kidneys.”;;
