​16-year-old boy dies at Leeds Festival after reportedly taking ecstasy pill

A 16-year-old boy suspected to have taken MDMA has died after falling ill at Leeds Festival over the weekend.

David Celino was thought to have taken a pill, according to police, who are now investigating his death following the incident on Sunday, August 28.

The teenager was thought to have taken a “grey or black oblong shape” pill on Saturday night, and was taken to the medical tent at around 10:16PM after falling ill before the West Yorkshire police were called to the festival.

Celino passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning after being taken to the hospital. Police are now investigating his cause of death.

“While the exact cause of his death is yet to be established, one line of enquiry is that he had taken a particular type of ecstasy (MDMA) tablet, which was described as a grey or black oblong shape,” said Assistant Chief Constable Catherine Hankinson.

“We are continuing to conduct enquiries on site and are liaising closely with the event organisers,” she added.

David Celino, who was from Worsley in Greater Manchester, has been described as a “beautiful, fiercely independent and warm character” in a tribute from his family.

“He had just received fabulous GCSE results, got into college, and had hoped to study computer science at a top university,” they said.

“Leeds festival was the highlight of his summer; ultimately it was to take his life in the most unfair, cruel and horrible way, and we are broken.”

Following the bank holiday event, police are now also investigating reports of needle spiking at Leeds Festival after two teenage girls were reportedly spiked with an injection over the weekend.

Both 17-year-old girls were unknown to one another and were thought to have been spiked on Saturday night within an hour of each other. The first suffered seizures while being taken to the hospital by her mother, who drove 70 miles to collect the 17-year-old.

“Both girls received medical attention on site after they reported feeling unwell in separate incidents on Saturday. Crimes have been recorded for both reports and enquiries are ongoing,” said a spokesperson for the West Yorkshire Police.

Ahead of the bank holiday weekend, police, experts, and festival organisers warned of high-strength pills circulating in the UK. Leeds Festival issued a drug safety warning reading: “In 2005 each pill contained around 80mg of MDMA. Some recent pills have tested upwards of 250mg MDMA. This could be firmly in the fatal overdose range.”

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter