Police had to be called out to quell a melee outside a Huddersfield court.
The officers intervened in the fracas which began on the steps of Kirklees Magistrates’ Court today (Thurs).
Trouble broke out outside the Upperhead Row courthouse some time after 2.30pm.
One eye-witness said a fight started with both men and women involved and said some of them had allegedly been taking Spice, a drug-like substance that can be bought freely in shops or online.
The eyewitness, from Golcar , who didn’t want to be named said: “Both genders were involved in the fighting.
“I’d just come out of the job centre and the police and ambulance crews were there.
“Two women ran past me crying, there was a man lying on the steps of the court, another man trying to run across the ring road and at one point I would say there were around 30 people at least involved.
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“I didn’t stick around.”
A court insider told the Examiner: “There were quite a few people involved. The ambulance service dealt with at least three people.”
A spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Police said: “Police were called to Kirklees Magistrates’ Court just before 3pm today to reports regarding two males.
“One had collapsed and the other had to be restrained from walking into the ring road.”
She added that both were under the influence of some kind of substance and were taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary for treatment.
Spice has become a popular drug amongst the young in recent years.
It gives the body the same artificial rush of endorphins - or ‘high’ - as illegal drugs such as cannabis or ecstasy.
The designer drug was blamed last May for five university students being admitted to hospital, two of whom were left in a critical condition.
The students at Lancaster University were admitted to hospital in a critical condition after taking the substance.
Spice is the name commonly used to describe a laboratory-created cannabis substitute.
While simulating the effects on the brain of cannabis, which is banned in many countries, including the UK, its chemical make-up is different and its side-effects, as yet, little studied. Some experts say it can be up to 100 times as potent as the drug it mimics.
