ORGANISERS of a Heaton Park musical festival have been cleared of any wrongdoing after five people fell ill.

The revellers attended the Parklife Weekender event on June 7 and bought small bottles of poppers from an approved stall in the arena.

A short time later, the five complained of being unwell and were taken to North Manchester General Hospital for treatment.

One casualty, a 26-year-old woman, was kept under observation for two days.

A police investigation confirmed that the five people who fell ill drank the poppers, described as a 'legal high', which could have had fatal consequences.

On the day, event organisers handed over 400 bottles of poppers to police and officers referred the matter to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

This week, the HSE said it had no concerns of any possible rule breach by Parklife and police said no offence had been committed.

Chief Inspector Gary Simpson, of Greater Manchester Police said: "It was investigated and no offences were revealed. It seems the people mistakenly took them.

"The HSE didn't feel an investigation was necessary.

"It seems the people involved made a mistake and thought they could drink them.

"If you drink them it is highly likely you will become ill and you could die from it.

"The medical staff at the festival did a fantastic job."

The incident proved embarrassing for Parklife organisers, who had issued a drugs zero-tolerance warning to ticket holders before the event as part of an awareness drive over legal highs.

They declined to comment on the outcome of the investigation.

Earlier this month, the Guide reported how Parklife organiser Jon Drape had spoken at a public meeting with residents in the aftermath of the fesitval, and admitted: "We were very public with our message in the run up to Parklife and I took a very hard line.

"It's embarrassing for me to say that I was personally unaware that poppers were on sale in the arena.

"As soon as I found out, they were removed from sale."