Four children at a primary school in Venlo, in Limburg, were taken to hospital last week for checks after ingesting a tiny amount of cocaine from a bag they had found near the school grounds, police have confirmed.

The children, who attend the PassePartout school, found some bags containing the powder in the bushes just outside the school gate which they then tasted, local paper De Limburger reported.

They were spotted by a teacher on surveillance duty who called the police. The children, whose ages were not made public, were taken to hospital but were not found to have suffered any adverse effects from the cocaine.

Parents were informed and a meeting arranged with police and the school management.

‘This sort of thing can never be completely prevented,’ schools official Rob Thuijls told the paper. ‘We check our own grounds but not the area outside the gates. I’m just happy it was handled efficiently and that the children were ok.’