The image above shows discarded canisters on the A38 in Upton-upon-Severn. The small containers are legal to buy, and are used as a way to inflate objects such as balloons. However, in the wrong hands, a ‘high’ can be achieved, sometimes aided by filling a balloon with the dangerous gas to ease administration. On the community Facebook page Upton Parish Notice Board, members took to airing their frustrations and one member had spotted balloons in the pile. Von Drinkwater said: “Disgusting - what are people like.” Karl OJ Godsell said: “What’s the generation coming too.” Charley E Charley said: “Nitrous oxide can be fatal. I know a friend’s son who died on this it is no joke.”
Luci Woodward said: “Looks like whipped cream canisters - people use them to get high.” Cllr Shirley Dobbin, the deputy mayor of Upton-upon-Severn, said: “ These canisters are dangerous, and I urge anyone who finds them not to touch the canisters and report to the council so we can clear them away as quickly as possible.” A spokesman for the drug support charity Talk to Frank, said: “It is very dangerous to inhale nitrous oxide directly from the canister, and doing it in an enclosed space is also very dangerous.” Inhaling the gas, which is also used in a clinical setting for pain relief, can lead to death.