POLICE have today launched an investigation after a four-year-old boy discovered an Ecstasy tablet in a Hampshire play area.

As young Jake Graham played on apparatus at a park, something on the ground caught his eye.

Thinking the object was a sweet he picked it up and ran over to his mum Nikki Graham to show her what he had found.

To her horror it was the class A, illegal amphetamine, ecstasy.

Now Mrs Graham has vowed never to return to the park with her son.

She said: "I shudder to think what would have happened if he had decided to eat the tablet."

Mrs Graham, from Romsey, had taken her sons to the playing fields in Halterworth, Romsey for a leisurely Saturday afternoon.

Jake had been playing with his brother in the adventure park designed for under 12s near to the entrance to the playing fields, in Eight Acres Road.

Processes engineer Mrs Graham, said: "Suddenly, Jake came running to me shouting 'look mummy I found a sweetie.'

"When I looked, to my horror I discovered that it was in fact an Ecstasy tablet, which was clearly identified by the smiley face on the tablet itself."

The news comes only two weeks after the two-year-old daughter of film star couple Jude Law and Sadie Frost received hospital treatment for accidentally swallowing half a tablet at a London nightclub venue.

Residents have reported incidents of youngsters hanging around late into the night in the unlit park.

Mrs Graham, 34, said: "It is not the best of places to go. In the past I've found broken glass and used condoms there. You see kids sniffing glue there but you know there is nothing you can do.

"The park is not very well lit and the youngsters know they can get away with it."

Liberal Democrat MP for Romsey, Sandra Gidley, said she is sad that this type of incident does not surprise her.

She said: "It is a major problem if parents cannot take their children to a park because they are fearful of what they might find there.

"As a former pharmacist I have seen what drugs can do. We need to continue educating children that drugs are not fun.

"Maybe the police do need to pay more attention to the area but at the moment they are stretched to breaking point."

Hampshire county councillor for Romsey, Liz Barron, believes that Test Valley Borough Council needs to review the safety of its parks.

She said: "The issue of drugs is very prevalent in the area and needs to be tackled."

But Mrs Graham will no longer be taking her son to the park.

She said: "Who knows, next time it might be a needle left lying there."

A police spokeswoman said an investigation is under way.

Ecstasy is a hallucinogenic drug popular with some night clubbers. Usually white in colour it comes in different shapes and sizes and causes many different side effects, including increased heart rate and excess sweating which can lead to death.