A JAILED drug dealer could have saved the life of tragic ecstasy victim Shellie Callaghan, it has been claimed.

Shellie, 16, collapsed and later died after taking after taking a rogue ecstasy pill at a party held at Claire Paton's home in Newtongrange, Midlothian, last year. Paton is said to have stopped youngsters at the party from phoning the emergency services for around an hour after the teenager began feeling unwell.

Instead Paton, who was worried she would be caught with drugs in her home, dragged a semi-unconscious Shellie to a shower room in a bid to revive the dying schoolgirl.

But the 44-year-old dealer was eventually forced to allow one of the kids to call for an ambulance about an hour later after Shellie failed to regain consciousness.

Shellie died in hospital after swallowing the deadly tablet during a party at Paton's home in October last year.

She was jailed for 225 days on Friday after admitting to supplying cannabis to a 15-year-old at the party and to exposing the child to unnecessary suffering or injury to health by allowing the child to consume drugs.

The 17-year-old who supplied Shellie with the killer ecstasy pill escaped custody and was handed a community payback order instead.

But a local source has claimed 16-year-old Shellie's life could have been saved if heroin addict Paton, who moved to Northumberland soon after the incident, had acted sooner and not been worried about being caught in possession.

The source said: "Poor Shellie was so ill after taking the pill and she wanted to go outside to get fresh air after she claimed of feeling very hot and dizzy.

"But Paton panicked and refused to let her out the house or call the emergency services because she felt she would get arrested if police turned up and found all those drugs in the house.

"It wasn't just Shellie who had taken the pills and another three teenagers were also feeling really bad after swallowing the drugs, but Paton was not shifting.

"For over an hour she wouldn't let them out of the house or to call for help after they all started feeling bad.

"Shellie was getting really hot and drowsy and they took her to the shower room to try and cool her down and revive her - but she was just getting worse and worse. Eventually she collapsed on the floor and there was no choice but to call for help - unfortunately it proved too late for Shellie."

On Friday Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard ambulance staff found Shellie slumped unconscious in the shower room of Paton's home after receiving a call from one of the children at around 7.30am saying the youngster's drink had been spiked during the party.
The teen was rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where she later died.