A MOTHER who lost her son to contaminated drugs still fears youngsters will fall victim to temptation, despite praising a "marvellous" reduction in drugs crime at a major music festival.

Christian Pay died aged 18 after taking an ecstasy tablet at Kendal Calling in 2015.

Two years later, a heavy police presence - coupled with drugs testing from drugs charity The Loop - saw a fall in the number of drug arrests.

Debbie Pay, Christian's mother, said: "It is brilliant to see this reduction, it's really, really good news.

"I know they upped the police presence, had dogs there too and invited The Loop down, but to see it being reduced is just marvellous.

"It was so important to have The Loop there. I've said a number of times that young adults are always going to be curious when it comes to drugs and alcohol.

"If there is a way of testing and making sure they're safe then that is brilliant and I support them 100 per cent."

The festival saw 14 people either arrested or dealt with for drugs offences, compared to 54 in 2016, with Cumbria Police praising the work of their officers, including the police dogs and handlers attending the festival.

Ms Pay, from Millom said: "It's hard to say if lessons have been learnt or not. It's been proven that we're losing the battle because kids will always want to try something new.

"It's been two years but it's still early. It's still mind-numbing when I think about it.

"I spoke to The Loop a lot the year Christian died and I was over the moon to find out they were going to be at the festival last year and then again this year."