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The father of ecstasy victim Leah Betts (left) said yesterday that drug education should be started in primary schools, as new research revealed that nine out of ten teenagers were ignorant about its effects. Paul Betts, whose daughter died after taking a tablet at her 18th birthday party at her home in Latchingdon, Essex, last November, said children should be given the "total truth" about drug taking "very early".

The survey of 5,000 14- to 18-year-olds found that many were unaware that taking ecstasy could be fatal and almost half did not know that it could cause death at any time, not just the first time it was taken. In Britain, more than 500,000 people are said to use the drug each week.