Ecstasy victim Stacey Laight died after experimenting with drugs for the first time, her heart-broken parents revealed yesterday.

The 15-year-old, who lived in Horden, near Peterlee, became ill on Saturday after a night out with friends. She died later that day.

Stacey's parents, David and Barbara, paid an emotional tribute to the teenager, who they described as a "fun-loving girl" with a bubbly personality.

They said: "She was an intelligent girl who has only just taken spring examinations, although she was nave and not streetwise.

"To the best of our knowledge and from what we have been told, she had never used drugs before and may have tried these as a one-off experiment, as teenagers do."

Stacey is thought to have taken a cocktail of Ecstasy, alcohol and prescription drugs while out with friends in the pubs and clubs of Hartlepool.

Police are waiting for the results of toxicology tests to establish the exact cause of her death.

In a statement, her parents said: "She had a lot of friends who loved her and she will never be forgotten by her family and friends."

Mr and Mrs Laight, who are both 37, said: "She was a typical 15-year-old girl doing all the things that a teenager of her age would do."

The family also hit out at the drug dealers who supplied their daughter with the deadly narcotic.

"We will never understand the mentality of people who sell drugs," they said.

"They should realise the devastation they cause to families like ours. Our lives will never be the same again."

Stacey, who was a pupil at St Bede's RC Comprehensive School in Peterlee, had a 13-year-old brother, David.

A woman in her 30s from Peterlee and a man in his 20s from Blackhall, County Durham, were arrested on suspicion of supplying controlled drugs. Both were released on police bail on Monday pending further inquiries