Essex Police makes arrests and seizes nitrous oxide cannisters

Police officers seized nitrous oxide cannisters during action in Chafford Hundred and near Bishop's Stortford

Police arrested two people and seized nitrous oxide cannisters less than 24 hours after being handed new powers to crack down on nitrous oxide.

Officers took action in Chafford Hundred, Essex, and at motorway services near Bishop's Stortford.

Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, is now a Class C drug and its possession became illegal from 8 November.

Supt Phillip Stinger, of Essex Police, said: "We have welcomed the introduction of this new law."

Essex Police said officers seized 19 nitrous oxide cannisters from a vehicle at Birchanger Services, near Bishop's Stortford, on 8 November.

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Two people, a 24-year-old man from London, and a 23-year-old woman from Buckhurst Hill, Essex, were arrested on suspicion of possession of a Class C drug with intent to supply.

They have been released on bail while inquiries continue.

Sixty cannisters of nitrous oxide were also seized during a disturbance in Grenville Road, Chafford Hundred, on Sunday.

A 23-year-old man was arrested and later charged with possessing a Class C drug with intent to supply, possessing a controlled drug of Class A and possessing a bladed article in public.

He will appear at Southend Magistrates' Court on 30 November.

"The use of nitrous oxide in public spaces is a nuisance to communities and has been shown to pose a considerable health risk," Supt Stinger said.