£1 mistake that proved life-changer

FROM TEENAGE DRUG SHAME VICTORIA BUILT A CAREER HELPING OTHERS DEAL WITH ADDICTION

- PAIGE OLDFIELD

VICTORIA Seed walked into the girls’ changing rooms, grabbed her gym bag and started getting dressed into her school uniform.

Looking up, a group of girls had huddled around her, one clutching a small bag in their hand.

“Do you want to try some of this?” she asked Victoria, opening her palm to reveal a tab of LSD.

Victoria had never tried drugs before. A top pupil, the 15-year-old was a quiet child and struggled with confidence.

But, surrounded by her classmates, Victoria felt an overwhelming pressure to buy the illegal substance.

She handed her dinner money over - a £1 coin - and the decision was made.

Victoria didn’t know it at the time, but that choice in 1993 would cause a ripple effect throughout her future - changing the course of her life.