The heartbroken mum of a teenage girl who died after taking ecstasy has paid tribute to her 'beautiful' daughter and is urging parents to speak to their children about drugs. Lila-Grace Smith, 17, took the class A drug for the first time during a sleepover with friends in June.
Her parents Emma Hargreaves, 40, and Campbell Smith, 41, thought the friend's parents were also in the house with them. But the girls were home alone when they took the drug, though it is currently unknown where they got it from.
A police investigation has taken place but no one has been charged in connection with Lila's death, her family said. Now devastated Emma wants parents to warn their children about the risk of taking drugs - and what to do if someone around them needs medical help.
She said: "I think you can tell kids to not take drugs but they don't listen because they think they're invincible and that it won't happen to them. The most important thing is that if you are with your friends taking drugs, and one of them seems slightly off, you need to ring an ambulance or get help straight away.
"Obviously you want to tell them to not take drugs but they don't always listen." It is believed that Lila-Grace fell ill after taking the drug, but her two friends didn't ring an ambulance for two hours as they were scared of getting into trouble.
After eventually being rushed to hospital, Lila-Grace died after having a cardiac arrest. Her death comes after 15-year-old Leah Hayes collapsed and died in a car park in Northallerton, Yorkshire, after taking the drug, also known as MDMA, in 2019.
Leah's mum Kerry Roberts fronted a campaign last month urging families to have 'early and positive' conversations about drugs and alcohol. Emma, of Keighley, backed Kerry's campaign, adding: "We thought Lila was going to a sleepover at her friends, we didn't think they would go and take MDMA.
"Just talk to your children about it and how dangerous it is. Tell them that if they are with someone who has taken drugs and they are even slightly concerned about them, they need to ring an ambulance straight away.
"Instead of worrying about how they might get into trouble, they need to worry about how they might be saving a life." Emma, who also has two sons, said she felt 'heartbroken' when she found out the news as she 'never thought it would happen' to her daughter.
Paying a touching tribute to her daughter, Emma said: "She was just really confident, lively, intelligent and outgoing. She was funny and kind.
"She just wore her heart on her sleeve. She was just beautiful inside and out.
"Lila loved going on family holidays, to family BBQs and family parties. We've got a really big family and that's what her life was based around really.
"I just felt heartbroken and shocked mainly. You just never think it would happen to you or your child."
West Yorkshire Police have been contacted for a comment.
