A DRUG warning sent to Fylde primary schools this week stating that LSD and strychnine-laced tattoos were being sold to children has been revealed as an appalling hoax.

Schools received leaflets headed "Notice to all parents" claiming to be from the Metropolitan Police, giving information about small tattoos soaked in LSD called "blue stars".

The leaflet also described drugs resembling postage stamps with pictures of popular children's characters on them including Mickey Mouse, Bart Simpson and Superman.

It warned: "This is a new way of selling acid by appealing to young children and your child could come across these and have a 'fatal trip'.

"It is also believed little children could be given a tattoo by other children who want to have some fun by cultivating new customers without the child's knowledge."

The leaflet claimed that the drug could be absorbed through the skin simply by handling the paper and warned parents to look out for symptoms such as hallucinating, severe vomiting, uncontrolled laughter, mood changes and changes in body temperature. It also warned that some some contained the poison strychnine.

Lancashire Constabulary confirmed that the leaflet was a hoax and that the "blue star" tattoos did not exist.

Somes headteachers chose not to circulate the leaflet to parents and children until its authenticity was confirmed, but some worried parents received copies of the leaflet from their children's school.

One mother, whose seven-year-old-daughter is a pupil at the Breck Primary School in Poulton-le-Fylde, was upset that the school had sent copies of the leaflet home with the children.

"I was horrified. It was just sent out as an ordinary letter. When I opened her schoolbag I expected it to be a note about a PTFA meeting or something like that, but I was shocked to discover that it was a letter about LSD.

"My daughter said, 'If I'm given a sticker for good behaviour from my teacher will it kill me?' Now I've had to sit down and explain about drugs to my seven-year-old child.

"I was horrified at the way they've handled it."

Another parent with a seven-year-old son at Breck Primary agreed: "It made me feel physically sick. It was the way the letter was portrayed.

"I put the fear of God into my son. At seven they are still babies and to have to tell them about things like this is awful.

"The school should have at least checked up to see if it was authentic before they sent this home. You can't go on hearsay. You've got to get your facts right. Now I've put my son through all this for nothing.

"I upset him unnecessarily about something he didn't need to know. If it had been authentic then we would have needed to know, but it should have been done in a different way.

"Maybe there should have been some kind of meeting to let us know how to explain something like this to the children."

Mr W. A. Bailey, headteacher at Breck Primary School, said that he had sent out a brief letter with a photocopy of the leaflet as a warning for parents and had no plans to follow it up with children in school.

"I wasn't planning to make a big fuss about this because I wasn't sure there was anything in it," he said.

"I've not noticed any of the children being particularly worried. One or two have come and asked me about things -- a couple have asked about Bart Simpson transfers but I've said this isn't what we are worried about.

"I did think it was probably a hoax but I'm still pleased I sent the letter out. We will send another one out confirming that it was a hoax."

Mr Bailey added that the children have drugs education at the school and they have held drugs evenings for parents in the past.

Det Sgt Paul Edmondson of Lancashire Constabulary's Drugs Support Team said that although the leaflet was a hoax, parents and teachers should always be alert to warn children of the dangers of illegal drugs.