A 76-year-old man has been arrested after eight children fell sick at a Christian summer camp.
The children had been collaborating in a summer camp at Stathern Lodge, a property within the the East Midlands owned by Christian holiday club operator, the Braithwaite Gospel Trust.
The man was detained on suspicion of administering poison or a noxious thing with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy.
The children were taken to hospital on Monday to be checked over and have since been released.
Their condition had been reported to Leicestershire Police on Sunday but officers didn’t attend the scene until Monday. The force’s handling of the incident is being investigated by the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
A spokesperson for the IOPC said, “The investigation will take a look at whether there have been any breaches of skilled behaviour – namely a failure to perform duties and responsibilities – that resulted in a delay in Leicestershire Police’s response to what was later declared a critical incident.”
The investigation into the summer camp incident has now been handed over to the East Midlands Special Operations Unit’s major incident team.
The incident, which has attracted numerous media interest, has shaken residents of the nearby village of Plungar, where a triage tent was arrange within the village hall to treat the youngsters.
One local told The Telegraph it had been “pretty chaotic, with emergency employees running around in all places”. They described seeing “just a few children in tears as they walked into the hall”.
“It’s like every parent’s worst nightmare, dropping your child at summer camp after which being told they may need been poisoned,” they told the newspaper.
Police have to this point declined to comment on the age and gender of the youngsters.
Det Insp Neil Holden, the senior investigating officer, said, in keeping with the BBC: “We understand the priority this incident could have caused to oldsters, guardians and the encircling community.
“We are in touch with the parents and guardians of all children concerned.
“Please be reassured that now we have several dedicated resources deployed and are working with partner agencies including kid’s services to make sure full safeguarding is provided to the youngsters involved.
“This is a posh and sensitive investigation and we’ll proceed to offer updates to each parents and guardians and the general public as and when we are able to.”
 A 76-year-old man has been arrested after eight children fell sick at a Christian summer camp. The children had been collaborating...){kind=link}