A 48-YEAR-OLD woman from County Durham has been arrested after 15 metal detectorists aged up to 80 fell ill after unwittingly eating a 50th birthday cake believed to have been laced with cannabis.

Eight ambulances and two doctors were among the emergency services called to an event in the High Melton area near South Yorkshire on Saturday evening.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service said 13 of the 15 patients required hospital treatment “after ingesting an unknown substance”.

All of those affected have since been discharged, South Yorkshire Police said.

A 48-year-old woman from County Durham was arrested in connection with the incident and has been bailed while inquiries continue, a force spokeswoman said.

Police said they had responded to reports of people eating something “reportedly containing cannabis”.

People dialled 999 after detectorists attending a national event suddenly fell ill, prompting a major response of eight ambulances, a rapid response vehicle, two doctors, two clinical supervisors and a Hazardous Area Response Team (Hart).

Julian Evan-Hart, editor of Treasure Hunting magazine, who spoke to people after the incident, said a cake had been baked for a detectorist at the Coil to the Soil event as his 50th birthday was approaching. Mr Evan-Hart said those affected were aged between 50 and 80. He said: “Symptoms were giddiness, drowsiness and people were feeling really ill. The man who the cake was made for thought he was having a coronary. It would be a totally alien feeling for him as he will not have had anything like this. What the hell would you think was going on?”

Mr Evan-Hart said there was not believed to be any “malevolent felling” and he believed the cake may have been laced with cannabis as a joke.