RELIEVED teachers told last night how tragedy had been narrowly averted after the discovery of drugs hidden close to a school.
Cleveland Police were alerted after £15,000-worth of what is believed to be crack cocaine was found in undergrowth.
Officers told how the consequences of a young child finding the drugs could have been tragic.
Children regularly play in the area, close to Newlands Primary School, in Saltersgill Avenue, Middlesbrough.
Headteacher Steve Wing said: "Obviously, such a large quantity of drugs found so close to the school raises concerns."
PC Jim Devine, of Cleveland Police, said the drugs were found in a wooded area near the school.
He said: "We are concerned that such items had been purposely hidden in an area popular with children. The consequences could have ended in tragedy."
One young mother, who did not wish to be named, said: "If a really young child was playing around there, something terrible could have happened."
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