A young child from the town of Hoogezand in Groningen province is in intensive care in hospital after eating an ecstasy pill he found in a school playground.

The child apparently found a small plastic bag of coloured pills while playing outside the Ruimteschip primary school in the town on Tuesday. One teacher saw the child eat a pill and alerted the emergency services immediately.

The child was rushed to hospital and admitted to the intensive care department for observation. ‘He is doing well,’ the centre’s director Veronica Stage told broadcaster RTL.

Older teenagers have been hanging around in the playground and leaving empty bottles and plastic bags used for marijuana behind them for some time, RTL said.