CONCERNS OVER NITROUS OXIDE ABUSE AFTER CANISTERS ARE FOUND DUMPED ACROSS A CAR PARK IN BUILE HILL PARK

Concerns have been raised after a large number of still full 'Nitrous Oxide' canisters were found dumped on a car park in Buile Hill Park this morning.

A dog walker discovered the silver canisters (some of which were still full) this morning and has raised concerns that they could fall into the hands of children walking through the park too and from a local high school.

Hearing the news we took a drive up there and promptly removed any still viable canisters which we have now disposed of properly.

We estimate there to have been at least 70 canisters, 7 of which were still full.

Nitrous Oxide (better known as laughing gas) is widely used as a party drug in the UK - giving users a short-lived euphoric feeling, however, it can cause serious damage to the mouth, lips and vocal chords as well as the lungs.

Young people inhaling it are running huge risks to their health.

Taking too much of the drug more commonly known as 'Noz' or 'Hippy Crack' can cause users to feel faint and in some cases they can become unconscious or experience numbness and run into difficulties with breathing.

In the most extreme cases it can cause permanent memory loss, swelling of the brain and even death due to lack of oxygen in the lungs.

A government report found that on average five fatalities per year are attributed to the drug but far more suffer from other associated effects.

It is illegal to be sold for human consumption although it is still easily available in other forms and is widely used in the food industry.

Over the past few weeks we have received increasing reports of canisters being spotted discarded all over the city, just a couple of days back we were informed that another large quantity were found scattered around streets in Weaste.