19-year-old who took unknown deadly pills at festival shares coma photos

He was in hospital for three days after taking three different types of tablet


A teenager who took unidentified pills at Kendal Calling has shared photos of himself in a coma as a warning to others.

Jordan Blackburn, 19, said he’d been given a “second chance at life” after taking coloured tablets he didn’t recognise at the festival.

He spent three nights in hospital after the Lake District event, but his friend Christian Pay died after taking the unknown pills.

Jordan wanted to share pictures of himself in a coma as a warning to others

Jordan told the BBC: “I don’t have much recollection, I think because it was such a traumatic event. It was really awful.

“I think at festivals especially, teenagers just want to have a good time with all their friends and they initially forget the dangers they can put themselves in by doing something stupid like we did.

“You never realise until it’s too late. You never think at that moment it is ever going to happen to you, but unfortunately you learn the hard way.

“You can never change the past, but you can always change the future. It’s just trying to make a positive thing out of something really really negative.”

His mum Alison Turnbull told the BBC: “I thought my world was about to end, I really did. I knew about Christian and I just thought, ‘this is it’, I just thought we’d lost him.

“He just wants to raise awareness. He was laying in his hospital bed and he just looked and he said, ‘I’ve been given a second chance at life, haven’t I?’ and I said, ‘yes you have’.

“Physically he’s fine. He’s still really tired; his body has been through quite a trauma. Mentally he’s coping OK, but I think he’s got what I would term as survivor’s guilt.”

Christian Pay died after taking the unknown pills

Christian Pay, 18, died in hospital and was described by his family as a “fun guy” with “enough personality for everyone”.

Jordan added: “He was a great guy. He was very small, he had the stature of a small person but the heart of a lion.

“He was just an amazing person, he always had a smile on his face.”

In total 14 people were treated in hospital after falling ill at the event.
Cumbria Police said four people arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs with intent to supply were on bail.

Superintendent Mark Pannone of Cumbria Constabulary said: “These are just some of the drugs seized. Our advice is simple – do not take any drugs at Kendal Calling 2015.

“It is never safe to take unknown substances as you cannot be sure of what they contain.”

Police released a drug warning after 14 people were treated in hospital

Early investigations suggested three possible drugs could be connected with the death.

They were a blue tablet with an Adidas logo, a light green tablet with a white fleck and a plain grey tablet with a white fleck.