One dead and three in hospital after taking drugs at Illusive Festival in grounds of country house

Police were called to the Illusive Festival at about 3.30pm on Sunday (September 8) where they found a woman in her 20s who had become unwell after taking drugs.

She died shortly afterwards.

A statement released last night said that a man, also in his 20s, then became unwell on Sunday afternoon having returned home from the festival. He was taken to hospital and remains in a critical condition.

Two other young women who attended the festival have become unwell and are receiving hospital treatment.

Detectives are now conducting enquiries to establish what happened to the festivalgoers.

A 24-year-old man was arrested for drug related offences on Sunday and has been released under investigation.

This newspaper has asked the Northamptonshire Combatting Drugs and Alcohol Partnership which drugs were taken but have not received a response on that point.

The partnership released a statement which urged anyone who becomes unwell after taking illegal drugs to seek medical help. Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Tuff from Northamptonshire Police, said: “Officers attended the Illusive Festival yesterday afternoon after being made aware that a woman had become seriously ill at the site. Sadly, she later died and a man in his 20s also became critically ill.

“We continue to work with those in charge of the festival and colleagues in Public Health to establish the cause and urge anyone else who feels ill having attended the event to seek medical help.

"An investigation to establish who may have supplied illegal substances at the festival is underway and I would urge anyone with information that may assist this work to contact us on 101 or via northants.police.uk.” Jane Bethea, Chair of Northamptonshire Combatting Drugs and Alcohol Partnership and Director of Public Health in North Northamptonshire Council said:

“We would always advise against the use of illicit drugs. Nobody can be sure what is in the drugs that they buy, or the effect the drug might have on them. We also advise that if you have taken an illicit drug and feel unwell, that you seek medical help and call 999 if you feel you need urgent medical assistance.

If you are worried about your drug use, and would like support, help is available.”

The Illusive Festival is a dance, trance, techno and garage festival in its tenth, and final year. It takes place at Deene Park, in which sits the stately home of the Brudenell family.